Echos of Reanimation
by RandomCacti
Summary: Boruto travels back in time, and inadvertently saves a soldier's life that should've died a forgotten war hero. Hashirama is killed instead of Itama, Tobirama is killed by Madara, the Uchiha defeat the Senju, Madara becomes the first Hokage. Basically, the Senju and Uchiha switch places, and Itama becomes a Madara-like figure.
1. Twisted History

A soldier leaps from the rooftops, hurdling himself towards another skyscraper. He crashes through a window, rolls then sprints down a narrow hallway. The building is in ruins: debris litters the ground, the signs of battle are evident on the walls. The fires burning on the upper floors fill the corridors with smoke, making it hard to breathe. The soldier slides down a ruined elevator shaft, then rappels to the sub-basement. He dashes through the tunnels, several rapid taps in the water reverberate behind him. He glances over his shoulder, and sees a platoon of masked, cloaked figures chasing him.

Music: Now – Detroit Become Human

The Anbu race through the tunnels, in pursuit of their target: Elias Kaizen Valkyrie; a notorious, mass murdering war criminal, sought after by the ASF (Allied Shinobi Forces) for his heinous crimes against humanity. Some have personal vendettas against Elias, and are anxious at the opportunity for revenge. It's the closest anyone has ever come to killing and/or capturing the mass murderer. It's the first and last chance they get.

Elias vaults over the obstacles in his path, knocking over anything to slow the Anbu down. He swings from the pipes, leaps over the sewer canals; the war criminal dodges the various jutsus and projectiles his pursuers hurl at him. An Anbu tries ambushing Elias, but he leans back, under the cloaked figure's sword, sliding under the Anbu's legs. He mule kicks the Anbu into the canal, flares his legs, windmill tripping another Anbu before she can cut him in half. She grabs his leg, but he kicks her in the face and scurries away before the other Anbu can tackle him. Elias corkscrews over a mine-cart, draws his side-arm, and shoots the kunai and shuriken out of the air while dodging a fireball. He lands, holsters his pistol, jumps towards another pipe then swings onto a mine-cart track. He aerial-flips, swats a barrage of shuriken away with his kunai, lands on the next platform then aerial-flips again onto an overturned mine-cart, dodging and parrying the remainder of the projectiles. Elias front-flips over another fireball, lands on a suspension walkway then dashes towards the mine-cart control room. He types as fast as possible on the terminal, but a kunai flies at his head, forcing him to duck. Elias restores the electricity before the kunai destroys the monitor. A carcinogen siren blares throughout the tunnels, initiating the containment sequence. An Anbu slashes at Elias, he ducks; a small fight ensues between the two until she stabs the control panel, electrocuting herself. He kicks the Anbu through a reception window, then bolts for a closing blast door. The Anbu rush towards a light at the end of the tunnel. The shadows and glowing eyes behind them fade, the growls and hisses diminish; hope turns to horror - the lights fade as well.

 _"You fucking biiiitch!"_ A cloaked figure rages, seeing the tunnel darken. He darts ahead to kick the blast door open, but it seals shut, trapping them in darkness. _"Mother fucker!_ _Earth style, seismic-"_

XXX

Another cloaked figure seizes his hands. _"No! You'll collapse the whole log-damned bunker; you know!"_ He protests.

 _"Log Damn it! That bitch trapped us here with those things!"_ An Anbu voices. _"I'll gut that whore if… WHEN we make it out of here!"_ She threatens, trying to unseal the door. The deep growls and hissing intensify, turning into psychotic screams and wails, echoing throughout the tunnels, bearing down on the Anbu.

 _"Line formation_!" Anbu Captain Raven commands. _"Ranged jutsus ready! Blades on standby! Choose your targets! Steady… Alright, let 'em have it! I want to see nothing but ashes remain! Parrot, get that fucking damned door open!"_

Elias leans against the blast door, trying to catch his breath. He stands at 180cm tall, has light brown skin, long brown hair, with glasses over his amber eyes; wears a wool field-cap, with a forehead protector plate between its crown and brim; has a padded gun-belt suspender over his wool, field-grey uniform with folded sleeves, combat boots, and puttees wound spiraling round his legs from ankle to knee.

Elias races through the winding tunnel. The growls and moans behind him become a cluster of banshee-like shrieks. He stumbles upon a suspension bridge, hanging above a bottomless pit. Water streams into the abyss, from the outlets flanking the narrow path; sunlight radiates on a ladder, at the pit's radius, indicating his ascension from darkness. A throng of footsteps rumble behind him; he sprints down the walkway, shifting through a series of one-hand seals.

 _"Lightning style, Synergistic Sabre!"_ An electric blade forms around Elias's hand. With a swipe of his arm, he cuts through the bridge like a hot knife through butter, then leaps towards the ladder. The platform bends and deforms, its suspension cables snap. Pale, disfigured, blood soaked arms, and tentacles reach from the dark, but the bridge collapses. The glowing eyes, and flailing limbs wither into the void.

Near an industrial district, a sewer grate lifts, dragging over. Elias pulls himself onto the cracked pavement. He sits against a concrete barrier, scrutinizing his surroundings: A red sun sets under a crimson sky, raging infernos wither into crackling embers. The stench of death lingers in the air: Corpses drift in the canals, charred skeletons litter the seared streets. The war-torn city has an eerie calm to it: the wind howls through distant skyscrapers, metal creaks in the ruins, and faint wind chimes ring in the background.

Elias replaces the magazine on his side-arm, then pulls back its slide. He presses a second mag release, then catches another magazine, ejecting near the front of the trigger. His hand emits a blue, luminescent light; Elias's chakra pours into the cylindrical cartridge. Nevertheless, the magazine reaches but a third of its capacity. He sighs, and re-inserts the secondary pistol mag.

Elias's radio emits a constant hiss, obstructing his thoughts. He moves his index and middle finger to a receiver on his ear, but static renders the message inaudible. A noise draws his attention; he readies his side-arm. Three shuriken slip between his fingers. He focuses towards the shambling footsteps, then sends the shuriken whizzing at the approaching silhouettes.

 ** _SQWELP, SHUNK, PLORK…_**

The silhouettes disappear in the fog with three audible 'thuds'. The lurching foot-steps become a persistent staggering, hidden within the fog, growing louder, and more numerous. Elias backs away, aiming his pistol. Realizing he's outnumbered, he vaults over the concrete barrier. He conceals himself in the fog, creeping past the abandon vehicles littering the road. He proceeds towards a nearby refuge; the desolate building holds its structural integrity, despite the bombings from the previous war.

Elias pushes the door handle; its rusting hinges screech and grind until the steel door jams. The gap is too narrow for him to squeeze through; debris blocks the door from the inside, preventing it from opening any further. A reflection in a cracked window catches his attention. He swings around then sees something crawling from an overturned truck. Its horrifying appearance unnerves him. Cyst-like bumps cover its disfigured body; its pale flesh runs down its skull and glowing eyes like wax. The bottom of its face is indistinguishable from the rest of its neck, aside from its slack jaw and teeth; the smell of its rotting flesh causes Elias's stomach churn, which is all he can do to keep himself from vomiting.

Elias regains his composure, takes aim, and fires, hitting the monstrosity square in its heart. The round cuts through its flak jacket like it isn't there; he watches the mutant fly backwards, hit the asphalt, then get right back up, like nothing happened. After a short pause, the mutated shinobi lets out an inhuman shriek; it charges out of the fog like a wild animal. Elias adjusts his aim, then shoots the mutant's knee, severing it. The momentum flips the creature forward, sending it flying through the air, upside down. Elias leans, letting the mutant crash through the window. He drops a flare into the building, but the mutant is gone.

 _"Where the hell did -"_ Is all he can say, before the mutant becomes the least of his concerns. It starts with the same low pitch growls from the tunnels; that same undying moan of the damned, now echoes throughout the streets. He sees the glowing eyes appearing in the fog; there're dozens, everywhere, moving closer, all focusing on him. The glowing eyes are in the skyscrapers, high ways, armored vehicles, and ruins. The faint groans become a perpetual blaring of deranged screams and phantom-like wails.

Music: It's Terror Time Again (Studio Version)—Skycycle

The mutants appear from the fog like out of a child's nightmare: Elias sees their wounds, the dry marks on their bodies, the various stages of decay they're in, and gouges that'd make a seasoned medical-ninja shiver. (Decades later, on a faraway continent, the 5th Hokage sneezes) Some have missing limbs, some are on fire, drenched in blood, or dragging themselves along with their entrails hanging out. Elias sees what's become of the Charred Battalion. His former brothers-in-arms rush after him. He wastes no time kneecapping, and shooting them in their heads to slow them down. He runs out of ammo, yet buys himself enough time to dive through the broken window.

Elias lands in a dark room, next to the flare; its green hue allows him to see the mutants charging out of the shadows. He back-handspring-kicks the approaching mutant's chin, spins on his palms, and swats three more away with his heels. Another mutant lunges at Elias, but he slams it to the ground with a sweeping hip throw, switches to his side-arms secondary firing mode, and shoots the mutant in the back of its head. The mutants swarm through the window and break through the steel door. Elias rushes through a swinging door; something brushes against his leg as he kicks over a vending machine.

 **SPLAT!**

The vending machine falls, blocking the hallway entrance. Elias continues down the halls, wondering why his leg is drenched in blood… A shadowy figure appears in his peripheral vision; he sees its glowing eyes, his blood runs cold. A mutant shatters an adjacent window, tackling Elias. The mutant bites through his neck, almost decapitating him in one bite; however, he vanishes in a cloud of smoke. Elias re-appears in front of the mutant, kicks its calf, slams his heel back into the mutant's thigh, crushes its skull with a spinning axe kick, and sends a spinning hook kick, into its face, launching the mutant back out the window, with a log now jammed in its teeth.

Duel wielding two kunai, Elias bolts towards his targets; he side-steps a marauding mutant, cleaves its vertebrae, then back-kicks it over a guardrail. Elias wall-flips over another mutant trying to tackle him, drives his kunai into its jugulars, and Spartan kicks it down a flight of stairs. He slices through the next mutant's abdomen, spilling its intestines on the floor, impales its heart, slashes its throat, kicks its legs from underneath it, and sends it tumbling down the stairs, into the previous mutant with a turning sidekick.

The hoard breaks through the swinging door, flooding into the hallway like a raging river. Elias sticks explosive tags to his kunai, tosses them down the hall, and forms a series of hand seals, in a nanosecond.

 _"Shadow kunai technique!"_ The kunai, become a wall of sharp metal, piercing through flesh and bone, like needles skewering pin cushions. He rushes through another door, then wheel-kicks a wall-locker down in front of it. Disfigured limbs and tentacles burst through a narrow window, on the door, forcing him to jump back. He rips the grill from a ventilation shaft, then dives into the basement.

XXX

The first thing Elias notices, is a janitor hanging/swinging from a garden hose, in a corner like a sack of meat. He guesses the poor bastard took his own life, for his fat-ass couldn't fit through the sliding window. Either way, the basement door will give any second; Elias doesn't want to meet what's on the other side… With a low sigh, He walks away from the building. The mutants break through the basement door, then attack the hanging corpse like a pack of wolves. He hears them biting and tearing into the janitors carcass. A hand reaches through the sliding window, brushing against Elias's heel. He narrows his eyes at the rotting arm reaching for him; he sees the mutant attached to it as well…

In a cold uninviting gap, between derelict buildings, smelling of garbage and stale urine; the mutant crashes into a dumpster. It peaks over the edge; a green laser inches towards the mutant's forehead.

 **CLICK… BOOM!**

The mutant's head explodes into a fountain of blood. Skull fragments and brain matter fly in every direction; its body slides back down as Elias's smoking pistol cools. After pushing the dumpster's 'compact' button, he brings his hand up to his face, extends his index and pinky finger, while the middle and ring are held down by his thumb.

 _"Arm..."_ he whispers, arming the explosive tags. Elias pauses, A neon sign lights up on a billboard: Montague's Pump n' Dump Fuel Depot… _"Oh for fucks sake!"_

Sprinting down the alleyway, with mere seconds until the explosive tags detonate, Elias spots a group of mutants. He draws his pistol, runs up the side of a wall, side-flips over them, and takes aim… With each shot, their skulls burst like overripe watermelons. Elias grabs a flagpole from a wall; he lands on the remaining mutant, driving the pole through its face and into the dirt. The explosive tags on the kunai detonate, igniting the accumulating gas. Fire engulfs the fuel depot; debris and burning bodies fly through the windows, landing on the fuel tankers and gas pumps. Explosions erupt onto the streets, obliterating the mutants cramming into the building. The windows shatter, ash and debris flies everywhere, covering Elias. Everything goes dark.

Something slams between Elias's shoulder blades, knocking him to the ground. He rolls over, then sees a smoking head and torso, trying to take a bite out of his leg like a quarter pounder. Elias fires his last two rounds into the mutant's pale, toasted face: its eyes shoot from their sockets; its brain catapults into the air like a champagne cork. The final superheated bolt of chakra obliterates the remainder of its cranium; the mutant's blood streams from its shoulders like a fountain.

Elias kicks the headless torso away, yet it begins crawling towards him. He scrambles to his feet, rips a piece of rebar from a ruined concrete wall, then stomps on the torso's back to restrain it. He applies pressure with his boot; more blood gushes from its shredded neck. He drives the rusty metal through the headless torso, pinning it to the ground. Realization greets Elias like frozen lake water, running down his spine. He turns around, then sees the now headless mutants lurching towards him. He backs away, clamoring at the sheer absurdity that befalls him. A hand grabs Elias's leg, almost tripping him. He tries pulling his ankle from the torso's seared clutches, but…

 ** _SQUISH!_**

Something soft, and mushy lands on him; his eyes widen, his arms slump in defeat; Elias feels the thick, sticky liquids running down the sides of his head.

 _"I'm so fucking done with this shit…"_ he grumbles. The headless torso's brain slides off Elias's head, plopping on the ground next to him. At his wits end, he severs the torso's hand, pries its blackened fingers from his ankle, then sees the hand still grabbing at him! He chucks it as hard as he can, off in the distance. His attention shifts to the approaching headless mutants. _"Earth Release, Gormandizing Grime Gap!"_ Elias taps his foot on the ground, activating the jutsu, causing the headless mutants to sink into the dirt. He hears glass shatter, then a distant shriek, but his attention is more on a trail of blood, leading towards a dark corner. Elias sees a couple figures hunching over something, then hears the sickening sound of flesh being bitten and torn.

Elias presses his lips together, makes two sharp smacking sounds with the intake of air, through his closed lips, then hurls a metal pipe towards the figures. They look up from their meal, towards Elias, but the pipe impales their skulls, pinning them to a wall. He walks past the mutants trying to attack him, then inspects the burned cadaver sprawled on the ground. It's a gruesome sight to behold: An arm is missing, there's bite wounds all over the body, the internal organs are mangled and exposed, and there's broken glass, laying around the corpse in a pool of blood.

 _"What a happy meal…"_ Elias scoffs. The carcass appears female; her charred attire consists of a steel grey flak jacket, black pants, and boot-like sandals. Though damaged, the animal-style, porcelain mask is unmistakable. _"What!? I trapped them in the bunker! I watched those freaks pile on top of them!"_ He realizes the kunoichi is from the elemental nations, but hunter-ninja can mean a hand-full of hidden villages, even fewer can project power on other continents - all of them bad news. _"Just who the hell am I dealing with?"_ he wonders.

Getting rid of hunter-ninja is never easy; but for now, surviving is Elias's top priority. He grasps the dead kunoichi's neck: the color drains from its face; the facial features sink; her body shrivels like a raisin. He absorbs her remaining chakra; it isn't much, but enough to mitigate the effects of chakra exhaustion… At least for now.

Music: Screaming Target - Resident Evil 2

The kunoichi screams; her blood-shot eyes shoot open, flabbergasting Elias. She grabs his throat, trying to pull him closer.

 _"Gasp…Awk…Gak…"_ Elias chokes, struggling to get away. He reaches for a piece of rebar, protruding from a concrete wall, then shoves it through the kunoichi's shoulder to free himself. She shrieks in pain, alerting the near-by mutants close enough to hear it. Elias uses the chakra he absorbed to shunshin (body flicker technique) away as they come crashing through the windows and doors. From a somewhat safe distance, He watches in horror as the mutants dogpile the helpless kunoichi, cursing at him in Japanese. The mutants pinned to the wall, somehow break free and join the feeding frenzy.

XXX

His heart is pounding, his adrenalin is pumping, yet Elias's breath is soundless, even in full sprint. Silent and agile, he stalks the alleyways, avoiding the zombie-like creatures if possible. If necessary, he immobilizes them from behind, or above, then disappears into the shadows. After an interval of surreptitious progression, he pivots, takes a few steps up a wall, then backflips onto a fire escape platform.

A storm cloud passes; a crimson moon illuminates an open window. Elias ascends a ladder, towards the opening; he checks his surroundings, then climbs into a small room. He notices a faulty wall socket, across the room, adjacent to a mirror, admitting flashes of electricity. In its reflection, a shadowy figure stares through the window, with its glowing eyes. Elias covers his mouth, preventing himself from gasping; he freezes. His eyes widen, his heart is racing, his hands are shaking, but the ravenous cannibal remains idol.

Elias eases his hand towards a pouch on his belt, hoping like hell the mutant doesn't spot him. He pulls out a roll of conductive wire, ties it to a kunai then sticks it into the window's metal frame. He ties the other end of the wire to a shuriken, and flicks it into the electrical outlet. A current surges into the metal frame; the smell of burning lumber and flesh fills the room. Elias lays back, presses the red-hot kunai with the bottom of his boot, and dislodges the window, with the mutant electrified to its surface. Adding insult to injury, the shuriken flies from the outlet, then hits the mutant in its forehead, through the glass before it falls off the skyscraper.

Clouds gather in the crimson skies, thunder rumbles in the distance; darkness once again consumes the blood moon. Lightning illuminates a dimmed corridor in a brilliant purple. Thunder returns the lightning's call, rattling the windowpanes. Fluorescent lights flicker in a corridor, revealing the paint shedding from its walls. Small puddles well in the corners, seeping from the pipes above. A boot splashes a puddle; the abomination, attached to the boot, drags its other foot/tentacle behind. The mutant shuffles in front of a broken window, past Elias. He yanks the unsuspecting mutant out the window, ( **YEET!** ) like a rag-doll. Thunder booms like a distant explosion, suppressing its boisterous impact into a wall, but the mutant face-plants onto the balcony railing. Elias pulls himself into the skyscraper, and sneaks through the dark corridors. He may not have a 'dojutsu', nor a 'kekkei genkai', (as those log worshipping toe exhibitionists call it) but has other ways of seeing in the dark.

Utilizing the 'Harries technique' with his kunai and flashlight, Elias walks close to the walls, avoiding the creaky floor boards. He peers over the corner, into the lobby; his heart skips a beat. Elias sees the mutants cramming around something, no doubt eating it. He backs away to an unlocked door, checks his surroundings, and enters a dark room; inside a surprise awaits. He finds over a dozen stray cats surrounding him, which brings him a bit of relief. After petting a few of them, he makes his way towards a small office with a few curious new friends following behind. He searches the desks and cabinets, then finds a few boxes of ammunition, a safe, and a key beside a picture frame. Two of the cats lunge at Elias's head, intent on using his face as a scratching post, but his training kicks in, and he ducks. One cat slams into a wall, the other crashes through the window, ( **YEET!** ) screaming as it falls several stories to its death… onto a spiked fence. Numerous pale, blood soaked arms smash through the walls.

 _"Stupid-ass fuckin' kitty!"_ Elias snaps at the surviving cat; it hisses at Elias, then lunges at him again, but a tentacle yanks the feline through the wall ( **YEET!** ), mid-jump. He unlocks the safe, grabs a bolt action rifle with its suppressor, and leaps out a window. He catches himself on another flagpole, swings onto a wall, and uses his chakra to stick to its surface. To his surprise, the mutants are not chasing him. He wonders why, but gets an answer in the form of several cats, screaming bloody murder.

(Anbu Team 13 Alpha – A few minutes ago)

The Anbu rush into a safe house; they're tired, and low on chakra. With low morale, and half their team dead, surviving becomes their prime objective - mission be dammed.

 _"Parrot, kill the lights; Hawk, cover the windows; everyone else, barricade the door and grab whatever supplies you can!"_ The Anbu captain orders. _"Command? Command this is Anbu Team 13…Respond!"_ Raven calls through her transceiver.

" _Anything, Raven?"_ Parrot asks. The room goes dark, with the exception of a red hue, radiating from a flair.

Raven adjusts the frequency and volume on her transceiver, _"No, nothing. We're on our own."_ She responds in a deadpan tone.

Hawk scans the city, he sees the mutants roaming the streets, then notices a large concentration of them gathering. He brings his index and middle finger at eye level, with the rest of his fingers curled into his palm - the veins near his eyes and temples bulge.

" _Byakugan_!" Hawk focuses his telescopic vision. " _I've got something!"_ He announces. _"They're heading for the fuel depot."_

 _"Shit! They must be after Wombat and Mantis."_ Pelican suggests.

" _Negative, but they are after someone, it appears._ " Hawk replies, catching everyone's attention.

 _"If it's that bitch that trapped us in the bunkers, I get first dibs!"_ Hyena says. _"I'll strangle that whore with her own intestines!"_

Parrot sighs, _"Tobirama says we need the target alive; ya know."_

Hawk deactivates his Byakugan, _"If all goes well, Team 13 Beta will ambush Valkyrie in the -"_

Music: Burning Earth - Firewind

An enormous fireball engulfs the fuel depot; flames erupt onto the streets, incinerating everything in its path. The explosion lights up the night sky; shockwaves rattle the windows, almost shattering them. The Anbu stand silent, watching the chaos unfold.

 _"Log damn…"_ Pelican stammers.

 _"Target spotted!"_ Hawk voices.

Several limbs pound the barricades; mangled, bloodied arms and tentacles reach through the door frame, and burst through the walls. Pelican and Raven reinforce the door with a sofa, holding it with all their might.

 _"What!? They've found us?_ " Pelican gulps, trying to hide the fear in his voice. " _How do they keep fucking finding us!?"_

 _"Hell if I know!"_ Raven huffs, struggling to keep the hoard from rushing in. _"Regardless, The safe house is compromised, we can't stay here any longer."_

 _"There's an alley three blocks down we can escape through, and cut Valkyrie off at the pass-"_ Hawk sees a black blur speeding towards the window.

 _"And she'll take it in the ass! Now let's get the fuck -"_

 _"Hyena wait!"_ Hawk interjects, but to no avail.

The black blur engulfs Hyena's vision, the window shatters, then darkness...

 ** _SWAT!_**

 _"AAAHHHRRGH! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!"_ Hyena shrieks, flailing and convulsing on the floor. Her mask breaks, she feels the shards digging into her face. The severed hand squeezes Hyena's jaw like a vice grip.

 _"Hold still damn it!"_ Hawk grunts. _"I can't pull the fucking thing off! Parrot, wire cutters!_ He clips the severed hand's thumb, releasing its death grip on Hyena's face.

Parrot snatches the severed hand, then drives a kunai through its palm, pinning it to the floor. _"The log-damn thing's still twitching; ya know!"_ He stammers.

 _"Never mind that! Pelican and Raven can't hold that door forever, we must leave while we can!"_ Hawk says to Parrot.

The Anbu dart out the window; the door bursts open, the mutants rushing inside are cut to pieces by wire traps. Pelican and Raven catch up with the remainder of the team, but find them standing, without speaking; just blank stares at the sickening scene in front of them.

XXX

Music: Avenger 2 - Naruto

They find the repulsive, animalistic abominations gnawing at the limbs and intestines of their comrade, gasping for breath, for Mantis can no longer scream in agony.

The veins near Hawk's eyes bulge; he charges forward, Byakugan blaring. _"They're all in range - Gentile fist art, eight trigrams! Sixty-four points!"_ Hawk leaps towards the mutants. _"Eight trigrams two points!"_ he decapitates a few with his initial strikes. _"Four points!"_ Hawk clears an opening beside Mantis _. "Eight points! Sixteen points!"_ blood and limbs erupt in a gory fountain around him, with not a spec of it staining his uniform. _"Thirty-two points! Sixty-four points!"_ The sounds of bones breaking, and jets of blood cease; the last mutant falls at Hawk's feet. He glances at Mantis, letting his guard down. The dismembered mutants that can, lunge at him; they grab hold, strangling Hawk.

 _"Shit!"_ Pelican draws his blades, ready to assist Hawk, then pauses.

Despite his dire situation, Hawk's far from helpless. _"Get the fuck off you rotten bastards!"_ He shouts, _"Eight trigrams! Rotation!"_ The mutants explode in a whirl wind of blood and gore, like tomatoes in a blender. The whirling chakra barrier diminishes, and the carnage subsides.

XXX

 _"You alright Hawk?"_ Parrot asks.

 _"I'm fine. A little winded, but I'll be alright."_ Hawk responds, trying to catch his breath.

Raven and Slug, rush over to Mantis and aid her as best they can.

 _"Why can't I die…? It hurts so much."_ Mantis whispers in a weak voice as tears run down her face; she passes out from the overwhelming agony.

Raven, like the remainder of her team are hardened war veterans, but is speechless at the current predicament. It bewilders her that someone with missing limbs, and intestines on the outside of their body, is alive, and talking. The rebar rammed through Mantis's shoulder isn't any help either.

Slug can't make heads or tails of the situation, despite his vast medical knowledge. _"I've never seen anything like this. Most of her vital organs are missing, or severely damaged; by all rights, she should be dead._ "

Raven sighs, _"Can anything be done to ease her suffering?"_

 _"I'm afraid not. The heart's missing; blood circulation is nonexistent. Even more baffling, Mantis's blood seems to have mutated into a gel-like substance."_ Slug removes the rebar impaled through Mantis's shoulder, tossing it aside.

Parrot reaches into a pouch on his left leg. _"Here, take this. It ain't much, but it's all I have."_

Hawk takes the orange capsule, inspecting it. _"These the new soldier pills Uzushiogakure have been going on and on about?"_

Parrot looks away and sighs. _"It's my last… Well, only one. Its experi- um, I mean, a reverse engineered product; ya know."_

Hawk rolls his eyes (not that anyone could tell, since he's a Hyūga) _"And they want a guinea pig to test their product on, right fire-crotch?"_

 _"No, no, no, don't be silly."_ The Uzumaki replies. _"It's nothing like that at all; the recipe was raided from an SSR_ (Syndicate of Sovereign Republics) _naval base a few years back; you know. The results were QUITE promising, I assure you."_

Hawk raises an eyebrow at this. _"Those Syndy boys sure do make good shit. Alright Meiji, You've peeked my interest, go on."_

 _"C'mon Lance, have I ever steered you wrong before? At worst, it'll produce some pretty trippy results. I would know; ya know…"_ Parrot nudges Hawk, whispering in his ear, while handing him a Dr. Pepper.

" _Dr. Pepper!_ _Hot damn, I'm in!"_ Hawk gulps down the orange capsule and swigs the soda. _"So, how long does it take to kick in?"_

Parrot shrugs, _"About five to nine minutes; ya know, give or take."_

Hyena scoffs, _"Fuckin' junkies…"_

Hawk raises his middle finger at Hyena, but Hyena gives the bird right back to him. Parrot flips off Pelican for no reason, and Pelican returns the good old fashion 'California howdy' to all three of them.

(SRMC [Sovereign Republics Marine Corps]) - 891 meters away – Rooftops - Present)

Elias looks through his scope, zeroing in on his target; he adjusts his sights (accounting for elevation, wind, and parallax adjustment), takes aim, and exhales…

(Anbu Team 13 Alpha)

 _"Glug, glug, glug, glug, glug…"_ Hawk feels the carbonation of Dr. Pepper burning a little; the caramel and sugariness from the high fructose corn syrup flows down his throat. There's a citric taste from the acidity; it's subtle, but noticeable. Parrot and Pelican stare dumbfounded at Hawk, downing a two-liter bottle like a champ. He tosses the empty container ( **YEET!** ), bouncing it off Hyena's head. _"Log, this Dr. Pepper's so fucking good…"_

Hyena glares at Hawk. _"Faggot…"_

Parrot catches the empty bottle, he attempts to shake out whatever is left on his tongue, but it's empty. _"A two-liter bottle isn't meant for one person; fool! Ya fool!"_

Hawk snickers. _"The hell it -"_

 ** _SQUELCH!_**

Blood and chunks of flesh cover the side of Parrot's mask.

Music: A crisis after another - Naruto

"HAWK! NNOOO!" Pelican shouts.

Parrot looks at Hawk, then sees a base-ball size hole, where his childhood friend's heart once was. Hawk's lifeless corps falls to its knees, with a shocked expression forever etched on his face; his body falls backwards in the dirt.

 _"Sniper! Get down!"_ Slug warns, but Mantis wakes up before he can dive through a window with her.

 _"Betcha didn't see that commin' ya pasty bastard!"_ Elias chambers another round, aims at his next target. He pauses. _"It must be my god-damned birthday!"_

 _"ARRGH! AAHH! NO MANTIS! NOO!"_ Slug screams as Mantis chews into his shoulder, forcing him to drive a kunai through her jaw to free himself.

Raven grabs Slug, then dives through the window; Parrot hears another round wiz by his head.

 ** _SPLATT!_**

 _"Aaaarrgh! My arm! My fucking arm!"_ Pelican cries, holding onto his severed limb.

 _"Fuck, I missed…"_ Elias hisses.

Parrot and Hyena spring from the ground, grab Pelican, and dive through the window behind Raven and Slug, as yet another round wizzes by, imbedding itself into the wall.

XXX

Elias sighs, reminiscing about his days as a genin. He recalls how much of a better marksman his partners are than he is. _"If only THEY were here."_ He looks through his scope once more; he sees the Anbu are gone, but know they're close. They can't leave a main-house Hyūga laid out in the dirt. They'll try recovering the body sooner or later; all that's left to do is wait. He notices movement, then spots his target. It never ceases to amaze him how much of a beating these creatures can take, and still keep coming! He figures the mutant (Mantis) is heading for Hawk's corpse. Elias isn't letting that happen; it'd be a waste of an intact, undamaged dōjutsu, ripe and ready for harvest. _"Oh no you don't, you fucking slug."_ (Slug sneezes…) Elias chambers another round and fires… The round shatters the mutant's upper and lower jaw before it can bite down on Hawk's corpse; however, this does not deter the undead Mantis.

 **Tink… Tink… Tink… Tink… Tink…**

 _"Anyone else hear that shit?"_ Parrot whispers.

 _"Log, what now?"_ Hyena wonders.

Raven slides her compact mirror towards Hyena, and points upward. Hyena nods; she inches the mirror towards the window, and adjusts the mirror. Her eyes widen at what she sees. Raven sees Hyena's face turning beat red. Blood trickles from Hyena's nostrils as she giggles with a creepy smile. A round shatters the mirror before Hyena can get a 'better view.'

 _"Damn! That bitch is a fucking crack-shot!"_ Hyena huffs.

 _"You've gotta be kidding! Another one!"_ Raven snarls.

Elias chambers another round, _"Hehhehheh… That must've been one hell of a sight from the wrong angle."_ He looks through his scope, and gets another cheap laugh as Mantis tries to bite Hawk's crotch, just to keep head-butting his groin plate.

As Slug finishes re-attaching Pelican's severed arm, he explains to his teammates what Mantis has done to his shoulder. Though bandaged, it doesn't heal, even with medical ninjutsu. _"We can't risk this shit spreading back home. This… plague is clearly responsible for the SSR's downfall, long before we ever got here. No doubt about it!"_

Pelican eyes Slug's wound; he nods with understanding of what Slug's implying. _"So recovering their bodies is pointless."_ Pelican affirms, as Slug finishes re-attaching his arm. _"How long do you think it'll take before you try taking a chunk out of one of us too, Doc?"_

Slug chuckles a bit at this. _"Don't know, kind of hard to say. I've never had a chance to study one of the specimen, with us constantly on the run from them…"_ He sighs, looking away. _"I'm pretty much a ticking time bomb."_ They both laugh, reminiscing about their days at the academy; the day they passed their chunin exams together, and becoming jonin two years after. _"I'd off myself if I could, but -"_

Pelican stops Slug before he can finish. _"You're more useful alive than you are dead."_ he declares, holding out his hand. Slug somberly smiles, grabs Pelican's hand, and pulls himself up. " _Let's make this evil bitch pay for what she's done to our comrades_."

(SRMC - 891 meters away – Rooftops)

Elias focuses his sights, scanning for the slightest signs of movement, anything the Anbu can misplace, or alter with genjutsu. He sees several small spheres, wrapped in paper canisters, flying out the windows. The spheres explode, clouds of smoke obscure his view; he surveys the perimeter around the smoke.

 _"Both sides eh? So they've caught onto my little game…"_ Elias shoots at a small blur, speeding behind a building, but misses. He knows the Anbu are approaching; the wire traps won't stall them long. He shoulders his rifle, _"I need to stall for more-"_

An onslaught of kunai and shuriken hurtle at Elias; he dives away, catching two of the kunai. Some of the shuriken change course, pursuing him. He dodges, but a hail of kunai rain down, surrounding him. He notices the explosive tags on the kunai; straightaway, his hands fly through a combination of seals.

 _"Lightning style: Disrupting Vaulter Diodes!"_ Electricity surges through the kunai, diffusing the explosive tags encircling Elias. The second volt launches the kunai in the air, and cuts the wires controlling the shuriken. He dodges the projectiles, then sees two black blurs, dashing towards him, through his peripheral vision. His eyes widen, Elias readies his kunai… It's fuckin' go-time, and he knows it.

 ** _SWASH, VZZZT, SHIIIIING_**

Music: Trouble Erupts! - Dragon Ball Super

 _"Shit, already!"_ Elias curses, gritting his teeth as his rifle falls over the edge.

 _"You thought we wouldn't find you? You honestly thought you'd get away with all the bullshit you've put us through? You've had this coming for a VERY long time, you fucking bitch!"_ Raven sneers, with venom dripping in her voice.

 _"My, my… you're pretty strong to be holding us back like this, but I wonder how long you can keep this up."_ Slug taunts, applying more force with his sword. _"Your arms will give sooner or later, then our blades will be inside you… Hope you're into getting spit-roasted, you filthy slut."_

 _"You have a choice Valkyrie. Either my blade slides down your throat, my partner guts you like a fish, or you fall to your death!"_ Raven inches her sword towards Elias's throat.

 _"Fuck… You!"_ Elias grunts.

 _"We're about to fuck you with our blades in a second, you little whore."_ Raven snorts, squeezing her legs tighter against Elias's ribs and bicep _. "Oh look, she's choking. It won't be long now."_

 _"You know I'm a doctor? Right, Valkyrie? If… No, WHEN you're captured, I'm breaking out my surgical instruments, then we're going to take our time with you. Starting with that pretty little face of yours!"_

 _"Tobirama said nothing about this flat chested floozy being in one piece! I like the idea, Slug…"_

 _"What...? The fuck…"_ Elias hacks. Raven presses down on Elias with all her body weight. He knows his back can't take the strain much longer; he needs to think fast before the Anbu catch on, and things go FUBAR. He curses himself for not refilling his pistol mags, but hindsight is 20/20. _"It's fuckin' go-time, indeed…"_

XXX

Music: Heavy Violence – Naruto

Elias twists his body, using his kunai to force Slug's sword away, then uses the momentum to pull Raven over the edge. He absorbs Raven's chakra, forcing her to disengage, then kicks her through a window. Slug dives after Elias like a comet, putting him on the defensive. In freefall, Elias and Slug erupt in a flurry of strikes, faster than an untrained eye can see: sword against kunai, steel against steel, both match each other blow for blow. Slug's longer reach gives him the upper hand; he swipes away one of Elias's kunai. They withdraw, then slow their descent, using their chakra to stick to the building's surface. They stare each other down, daring one another to make the first move.

The thunder storm intensifies; lightning tears through the clouds, lighting up the night sky in a blinding light, as if god, or log (depending who you ask) itself is watching the battle. Elias and Slug disappear, re-appearing as the lightning flashes. Their weapons clash, emitting sparks that rain down, like tears of a weeping angel. Caught in a stalemate, they battle in pure strength: pushing each other back, bending the others wrists, trying to free their weapons from one another.

Standing at 222cm, Slug towers over Elias, _"Fee-fi-fo-fum… Ima beat that ASS numb!"_ He jeers, gaining the upper-hand on a kneeling, and fatiguing Elias. _"Be you alive, or be you dead, you'll grind on my bone, after you've given me some head!"_

Nevertheless, Elias has the advantage in speed. He forces his, and Slug's hand into a combination of seals; electricity surges through Elias's arm, electrocuting and stumbling Slug back. A current arcs between Elias's hands; he closes his fists, and slams them together.

 _"By the way, ass-hole… I'm a man. Lightning Style: High Voltage Vendetta!"_ Elias delivers a barrage of rapid, electrified punches to Slug's stomach, upper cuts him, and sends Slug falling with a spinning hook kick.

Raven's hands burst through the glass, under Elias. She grabs his ankles, then yanks him into the building, throwing him across the room. He crashes through a wall, into an office cubicle. A barrage of shuriken and kunai fly at him, but he rolls away, catches a kunai, then dodges and deflects the remaining projectiles.

A dim light gleams behind Elias, it brightens the whole room; he feels the heat coming from behind. He looks over his shoulder, then sees a fireball, in the shape of a skull, speeding towards him. He dodges the flaming skull, but it impacts a nearby wall, launching him across the room. He lands on the interior balcony railing, preventing himself from falling over. Elias looks through the doorway, he sees Raven staring him down, then disappear.

Raven appears behind Elias, her hands shift through a series of seals. _"Fire Release! Searing Skull Salvos!"_

Three flaming skulls, launch through the air, behind Elias. He dodges with an aerial cartwheel, off the railing, while throwing a hand-full of shuriken at Raven. The volley of shuriken forces her to parry; she sees Elias dash down the hallway, then bolts after him.

Fiery skulls blast through the walls, approaching behind Elias; he turns the corner, but Raven swings from the top of a door, and kicks him. He crosses his arms, blocking the attack, but Raven's kick sends him flying back into the cubicle farm. He skids to a halt then notices a shadow lurking behind him. A mutant lunges from an office cubicle. Elias evades, grabs the mutant's wrist, puts it into an arm lock, slaps an explosive tag on the mutant's back, and kicks it at Raven. Raven side-flips over the incoming mutant; its upper-body crashes through the wall. She prepares to jump at Elias, but sees Elias's hand near his face. Her eyes widen…

 _"Detonate."_ Elias whispers.

 _"Fu-" is_ all Raven can say before an explosion hurls her through the air.

 _"Lightning Release! Fazing Flash Kick!"_ Elias backflips, slamming his electrified boots into Raven's chin, rocketing her through the ceiling. Mask or not, he knows that has to hurt like hell...

XXX

Slug catches himself on a steel girder, jutting from a ruined section of the skyscraper. He looks down, and can't see anything; either it's so dark, or he's so high up, Slug doesn't know. He soon wishes the latter, rather than the former is true: the shadows shift and shuffle in the dark; there are hundreds, maybe thousands, all filling into the entrances; the lightning flashes, he sees the mutants scaling the walls after him. Slug struggles to pull himself up, hoping he isn't struck by lightning in the process; the wound on his patched shoulder makes the endeavor much harder. Slug's uninjured arm inches toward the girder, he feels his grip slipping against its slick surface, but manages to pull himself into the building.

Laying spread eagle, on the ground, in some sort of conference room, Slug tries to catch his breath. He sits up, then observes his surroundings: there are eight comfortable, upholstered chairs arranged in a square; the room is intact, sans the large hole in the wall. He stands, confirming his ribs aren't broken, nor is his internal organs damaged from Elias's attack. Slug dusts himself off, then it hits him like a ton of bricks.

 **FLASH BACK NO-JUTSU!**

 _"By the way, ass-hole… I'm a man. Lightning Style: High Voltage Vendetta!"_

 **END FLASHBACK…**

Music: Dude (Looks Like A Lady) - Aerosmith.

Slug feels the heat rising in his cheeks. His face flushes radish red, he slumps down on a conference chair: what shame and utter humiliation. Despite no one being around, Slug is thankful he's wearing a mask. For one odd reason or another, a ghostly, humanoid, fishlike creature, with big, bulging eyes, and dark-red skin appears beside him.

 _"It's a trap!"_ the apparition warns before fading away.

 _"Did that fuck put me in a genjutsu!?"_ Slug wonders. The shame, it haunts him so…

Realization dawns on Slug like a slap to the face: his 'spank bank' is full of 'counterfeit ryo', worth less than the piles of 'used tissue' accumulating in and around Parrot's trash-bin (Parrot sneezes). Slug recalls many-a lonely nights on the ship, in his bunk, under the blanket, with just him (as far as he knows) and a picture of what he hopes is a woman (hello puppet show!). If this news gets out, it'll spread faster than the plague did on this log-forsaken continent! Slug will never hear the end of it… Assuming he makes it out alive, assuming Hashirama finds a cure in time.

 _"When Valkyrie is captured, I'll check… Just to be sure… I'll pass it off as a physical, or some bull-shit like that. For logs sake! What the fuck am I saying!?"_ Slug asks himself as he begins questioning his sexuality.

Slug remembers he isn't the only one who owns a Bingo-book. Anyone worth their salt in the ASF does too. _"The ASF should've at least known Valkyrie's CORRECT gender before listing him in a log-damned bingo-book! Hell, the bastard is drawn on the front cover of ' Majin Booty Magazine – Issue No. 4', with a pair of jugs for crying out loud!"_

Slug shudders, imagining all the major, mental economic collapses in everyone's collective 'spank banks' this'll cause. He doesn't even want to think about the havoc on morale this'll wreak.

XXX

Slug rests his face in his hands; he gains his bearings, unaware of the creeping danger. He hears a light slapping of a footstep, the scrunching leather of his conference chair, then feels a pair of hands, grab his shoulders. Slug peeks through his fingers…

Music: Screaming Target - Resident Evil 2

He sees a faceless old lady, covered in someone else's blood, with an eyeball dangling from her skull, bringing her mauled, rotting, maggot infested face closer to take a bite. Slug smashes a flower pot across the mutant's face, knocking out its dentures. The mutant falls onto a glass coffee table, shattering it. He leaps over the conference chair, but the mutant grabs his leg, tripping him. He kicks the mutant in its face, and gets back up. Slug rushes across a couch, towards his sword, but the mutant tackles him by his legs, making him fall face first onto the sofa. Struggling to get away, he manages to free his upper body, then tries leaping away, but the mutant has a firm grip on the cuffs of his pant legs. The mutant pulls him towards the couch; Slug feels his cargo pants slip around his ankles. He grabs the armrest, trying to pull away, but the mutant lunges forward, grabbing hold of his grey, shuriken-decorated boxers.

 _"Aaagh! No! Nononono! NO! NO!"_ Slug panics, as he hears his boxers rip and tear. The mutant yanks down Slug's boxers, pulling him back towards the sofa. " _FUCKING NO!"_ The drooling mutant grabs hold, squeezing his buns. _"NOT MY ASS!"_ It opens its mouth, almost wide enough to unhinge its own jaw. _"RRAAAGH!"_ Slug screams, freaking the fuck out as the toothless mutant bites down, suckling and slurping like Menma, eating a bowl of ramen noodles. _"MY ASS! MY ASS! IT'S GUMMING MY AAAASSSSS!"_

XXX

Elias hears the mutants breaking into the lower floors; there has to be hundreds, maybe thousands flooding into the skyscraper. He opens a door, a mutant lunges at him, but he ducks, letting it crash through the window behind him. ( **YEET!** ). He sees the mutant falling then fade into the darkness. Elias hears a distant crash, following a blaring car-alarm. He shrugs, then continues up the stairs. On the next floor, He sees Raven unconscious, hanging upside down from the ceiling. Not taking any chances, he sticks an explosive tag to a kunai and throws it.

 **SHINK, KA-BOOM!**

The kunai detonates on impact. Elias continues up the stairs, snickering. He knows the kunai hit a shadow-clone; he knows if he dispels them, their memories transfer back to the user – including what they feel. His snickering turns to full-blown laughter knowing he 'bulls-eye the brown eye!' Elias finds himself having to duck an incoming kick.

 _"PERVERT!"_ Raven yells.

 _"Well I'll bet that lit a fire under your ass! Metaphorically, AND quite literally!"_ Elias taunts.

Music: ATAC Attack – Killzone 2

Elias blocks and dodges Raven's onslaught of kicks, he knows he can't keep this up much longer. Just one of those landing will take his head clean off. Raven sends a hopping side-kick towards Elias's chin, but he kicks higher, blocking it. Elias hooks his knee around Raven's leg, forcing it down, then sends swift, sharp jabs to her floating rib, tri-cep, elbow and wrist.

Raven catches Elias's fist, then surprises him with a flying arm-bar, slamming Elias to the ground. He pulls his arm away before she can tear it, right from its socket, but Raven is on top of him. She draws her sword, then stabs at his face. He dodges the rapid stabs at his head, and catches Raven's arm, before her blade can go through his eye. He absorbs Raven's chakra, forcing Raven to drop her blade. Elias kimura sweeps Raven and grabs her throat.

Elias's hands feel icy, they close like a vice grip around Raven's neck. She sees the crazy look in his eyes, Elias's grip tightens, her breath ceases. She fights back, but his grip is unyielding, her lungs begin burning from lack of oxygen. She sees spots flashing across her vision as he drains more, and more chakra. Before she can fade into darkness, Raven grabs a rotary dialing phone, and clocks Elias across the head, knocking him back. Elias doesn't know if it's his head, or the phone ringing.

Raven German suplexes Elias onto a table, then slams her elbow into his chest, almost knocking the wind out of him. He catches her elbow on the third strike, then knees Raven in the face, stumbling her back. Elias grabs a computer keyboard, and bashes Raven across the head. Raven doesn't know if she's seeing stars, or the computer keys raining down around her. Either way, Raven is pissed!

Elias and Raven re-engage, in close-quarters hand-to-hand combat. Raven has skill and power, but Elias has experience and speed. However, she seems to be able to read, predict, mimic and use his own moves against him.

 _"How is this even possible?"_ Elias wonders… _"Unless - no. It can't be! Not one of them!"_ He increases the speed and ferocity of his attacks, gaining the upper hand; Elias catches Raven with a jab, cross, hook combo, a double round house to her ribs, side-kick to the chin, then plunges his foot down, in an axe kick, flipping Raven forward like a pancake.

Raven uses the forward momentum to kick Elias's chest, flinging him back. Continuing her assault, she jumps in the air, then delivers multiple, rapid dive kicks at Elias. He blocks the barrage of kicks, but the final kick sends him across the lobby. Elias skids to a halt, but she doesn't relent, Raven's fists are flying, her legs are swinging. He sends a hook kick straight at Raven's neck; she blocks, but Elias transitions his kick, into a scissors take down. He reaches for her throat, but Raven grabs his wrists, preventing Elias's hands from making contact. He slams his knee onto Raven's stomach, almost causing her to vomit.

Raven struggles against Elias; his hands inch closer, she realizes Elias's palms must make direct contact with her skin, in order to absorb chakra. Raven shifts her grip on his wrists, pulls him forward, and head-butts Elias in the face. He recoils, she uses the opening to kip-up, driving her boots into his chest. Elias flies through the air, and crashes behind a reception desk.

 _"OOF!"_ Elias's hands blur through a combination of seals. _"Lightning Style! Thunder Bolt Barrage!"_

Raven dashes away; lightning surges after her. She leaps from the cubicles, but the currents are closing in. Raven spots her sword; another bolt almost fries Raven from the inside-out as she dives for the blade. The torrent of lightning ceases; she takes the opportunity to catch her breath, and plan her next move. Elias does a thorough sweep of the cubicle farm, scanning for the slightest movement, or noise. On occasion, he finds himself calling down the bolts of Zeus on any mutant unfortunate enough to draw his attention; reducing the abominations to a red paste, splattered all over the floors and walls. He spots movement in the front row, on the far-right cubicle; he sees some random guy, in a purple sweater peek from it.

XXX

 _"TOASTY~!"_ the man in the purple sweater choruses.

Elias is taken aback by this. There's a survivor? And, what did he just say? _"Whoa! Uh, what?"_ he asks.

 _"Uh, I said… TOASTY~! Cuz that was, like the toastiest shit evah! UP HIGH~!_ " The survivor beams, raising his arm in a 'high-five' motion, towards Elias.

 _"What does 'toasty' mean?"_

 _"You know, like: Whoa, nice move. That was friggen toasty! So like… Let's head over to TGI Fridays! Cause there's a special on everything TOP-SHELF~! And I got a free GIFT CARD~! With, like fifty-three ryo on it!"_

 _"Top-shelf eh… Wait – did you just ask…Bro! I'm not a -"_ Elias sighs _"I'm REALLY not in the mood for this shit right now."_ he grumbles. _"Never mind… Do you mind leaving? I'm kind of in the middle of something right now. So…"_

The Toasty slumps his shoulders, _"No, no I get it, yeah. I hear you out. That's, uh… That's cool. That's toasty."_

 _"No it isn't."_ Elias replies, pinching the bridge of his nose.

The Toasty lowers himself back down the cubicle, Elias's attention shifts back to the fight, in time to notice the fireballs flying at him. He dives away, but Raven appears behind him; she tries cutting Elias in half, but he clasps his hands together, catching her blade. Elias pulses the excess chakra through his hands, forcing Raven to slide back a few centimeters. This buys him enough time to draw his kunai, but Raven is right on his ass again!

Elias and Raven explode in a flurry of swipes and strikes, disappearing, re-appearing in black blurs. Their weapon collisions rain sparks, igniting the furniture. The room is set ablaze; the flames surround them. They clash in the middle of the burning room, then hear a loud rumbling above. Something begins crashing through the upper floors. Raven and Elias disengage, back-flipping away from a steel girder falling through the ceiling. They stare each other down. Raven is nervous, she hears the structural integrity of the floor giving, but sees Elias across the room with a sly grin on his face…

 _"We don't need no water let the mutha-fucker burn!"_

 _"Nani!?"_ Raven questions.

 _"Oh, that's right, you log-worshiping tree-hugging toe-exhibitionists, only speak Japanese_."

 _"I don't know what you said, in your 'native-tongue', but something tells me it's what you'd get it ripped from your throat for!"_ Raven snaps.

 _"Come at me bro! COME AT ME!"_ Elias goads, switching back to Japanese.

 _"WITH PLEASURE!"_ Raven responds, preparing to attack.

Before Raven and Elias can go at each other, they hear a long, drawn-out scream. The screaming becomes louder, getting closer; it's near enough to recognize as human. Then they hear it: the endless hissing and moans coming from a hoard, echoing throughout the halls, and stairwells. Groans of mindless hunger, drown out the cries of distress. Elias and Raven look down the halls, preparing for the worst. Elias has no idea what to expect, but Raven knows that scream all too well.

 _"That fucking idiot is leading them right towards us!"_ Raven thinks.

Music: Chase – The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D

A sobbing Slug hops out of the dark, down the corridor, trying to pull his pants up _. "OH! OH NO! OH NO! OH! OH NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOO! AAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!"_

A screeching, disfigured old lady rushes out of the dark after Slug. An entire hoard floods into the corridors not far behind. It almost resembles a sack-race between Slug and the mutants! Raven and Elias's eyes widen at the size of the hoard.

 _"No! NO! NO! Don't fucking lead them overhear, ass-hole!"_ Elias shouts.

Slug clenches his bare ass-cheeks, then starts hopping even faster. _"Fuck you dude!"_ he shouts back at Elias.

Raven stands, watching silent, not sure what to make of the situation. Her mask covers the small smile creeping on her face. She begins giggling at Elias and Slug's antics.

 _"Step off! Step back! STEP AWAY! Step back! Don't… Don't step forward, step back! Don't step forward, step backwards! Backwards! Don't step to me! DO NOT STEP TO MEE! EEErrrgh…"_ Slug screams at the mutated old lady, chasing after him… And his buns.

Ravens giggling turns to full-blown laughter at this point.

 _"Why are you laughing!? Those things will fucking tear us to pieces if they make it in here!"_ Elias yelps at Raven. He pauses; an evil grin creeps on his face. _"Go on, laugh it up! Get a good kick out of it, but don't worry; I got something for that ass! REAL TALK!"_

Elias curls his fingers then grabs his wrist. Chakra accumulates around his hand; 'it' begins taking shape... A ring of chakra levitates above his palm. He lets go of his wrist, pulls his hand back and aims at Slug. Elias checks to make sure Raven is in position, then releases his technique.

 _"Revolving Accelerator Rings!"_ Elias thrusts his hand towards Slug, the chakra rings glides forward and expands, stopping in the door frame.

Slug hops through the chakra rings; it flips him forward, launching him through the air ( **YEET!** ), upside down. Raven's laughter ceases, her eyes widen; she gasps at the sight in front of her. The last thing she sees is Slug's bare-ass flying at her face.

 **THWACK!**

 _"TOASTY~!"_

XXX

Elias's technique almost sends Slug and Raven through the window. He makes a mental note to apply more chakra next time… IF there's a next time. Before long, he sees the Anbu getting back up. He curses, wondering how they're even conscious. Raven and Slug's vision comes in, out of focus. They try standing; at first, they can't discern between the distinct sounds around them. No equilibrium, just confusion. The disjointing haze recedes; they begin making sense of the world around them

The edges of Raven's vision flicker and dance. _"Ugh… My head…"_ she slurs.

Slug groans, shaking the cobwebs from his head as he pulls up his cargo pants. _"You alright, Raven?"_ Slug asks, extending his hand. Raven grabs his hand then stands. _"Here, take this."_ he suggests, handing her an MRP (Military Rations Pill).

Raven downs the MRP, replenishing her chakra. _"Thanks, I…"_ A rock bounces off the front of her mask then Slug's. They shift their attention towards Elias, glaring daggers at him.

 _"Hey, dip-shits! Meet me on the roof-tops if you want to settle this once and for all!"_ Elias provokes, calling them both out. Three round pellets appear between his fingers, he throws them against the ground, then disappears in a cloud of smoke.

Right away, the smoke fades; Raven and Slug see the zombified old lady, flying through the air, towards them, with its arms extended. They dodge, letting the mutant crash through the window ( **YEET!** ). Slug and Raven look out the window; they pause then look at each other, coming to the same horrifying conclusion. The hoard reaches Elias's 'Revolving Accelerator Rings'. Raven and Slug dive away. Dozens, then hundreds of mutants launch through the air. They observe the staggering scene unfolding in front of them, gawking as the mutants launch through the door frame and shatter the windows on their way off the skyscraper.


	2. Twilight Valor

**I would like to give a shout out to Dragonblaze66, thank you so much for being the first person to provide feedback for my first attempt at writing fanfiction; it means a lot to me. I'm sorry I took longer than I should've updating the chapter, (I'm still fumbling around with the settings and controls and what not). Dragonblaze66, if you're reading this I hope you, along with anyone else enjoys the second chapter and will stick around for an eventual third.**

Parrot hears the bullets whizzing by his head, he dashes for a parking lot and dives for cover as another round imbeds itself into the concrete, centimeters away from his skull. He crawls away from the sniper's line of sight, but discovers the parking lot isn't empty. Parrot decapitates two of the ambushing mutants with his sword, but a third mutant grabs hold of him. The mutant bites and snaps at him as he holds back its face. Parrot pushes the mutant away, then kicks it through a brick wall. The decapitated mutants behind him stand, they grab hold of Parrot and wrestle him to the ground; he struggles and panics as more mutants flood into the parking lot, through the dark alleys. Parrot kicks away one of the headless mutants, but the other has a firm hold on him. Despite the mutant lacking a head, it tries shoving whatever part of Parrot it can down its neck. Parrot's situation appears hopeless, he's alone, his arms are tiring, and his muscles are straining from the constant fighting. The mutants close in, Parrot knows any second they'll be biting and tearing into his flesh. He screams and begs for help; a garage door opens. Two pairs of hands grab Parrot and yank him inside. Parrot slides into the garage with the headless mutant holding on to him.

" _Shit! Hyena, help me pull this thing off him!_ " A gruff masculine voice barks.

Hyena slams the garage door, crushing a mutant's skull, then rushes to assist Pelican; the mutant manages to shove Parrot's arm down its neck, trying to swallow it whole. Pelican throws the mutant off Parrot, but it tries attacking Hyena. She brakes the mutant's arm, then its knee, and kicks it away. Despite the mutant's broken limbs, it stands then begins limping towards the trio. Pelican drop kicks the mutant onto a conveyer belt then uses a chain to restrain it. The conveyer belt pulls the mutant into a waste grinder that coats the walls and machinery with blood and gore. The garage door bends and deforms; the mutants break through the transom windows and barricades. Parrot sits up; the gash on his head leaves him feeling light-headed. He notices blood on the floor, then touches the top of his head. As he fears, his own blood covers his hand.

" _Get up! Get the fuck up Meiji_! _We've got to get the hell out of here!_ " Hyena yells. She grabs Parrot's hand, and pulls him to his feet, but the vertigo causes him to collapse.

" _Log-damn it!_ " Pelican grunts in anger; he rushes over to Parrot and uses the 'fireman's carry' to pick him up.

Pelican and Hyena rush up the stairs with Parrot in tow, the mutants break down the garage door and chase after them. They find themselves in an assembly line, abandon mid-production. The machinery is running, the equipment and tools litter the floor, a biohazard alarm blares throughout the complex; however it doesn't drown out the groans and wails of the hoard surrounding the factory. The mutants scale the walls, breaking through the windows and doors. Escape becomes uncertain as Hyena and Pelican sprint and fight for their lives. With nowhere else to run, Pelican and Hyena decide to take their chances outside, rather than be torn to pieces. Hyena destroys a section of the wall with fire jutsu then they make their escape down an alley towards another building. She takes point, clearing out any mutants obstructing the path, Pelican ducks and dodges the mutants that make it past Hyena, while carrying Parrot. Parrot awakens from unconsciousness; though dizzy, he's able to stand on his own.

" _It's about log-dammed time you woke your lazy ass up, sleeping beauty!_ " Hyena jests.

" _The hell happened? What's goin' on; ya know?_ " Parrot slurs.

" _We're about to be eaten alive unless you use your sealing jutsu to hack that damn door!_ "

" _Alright, alright… Just buy me some time!_ "

Pelican uses Earth jutsu to create a rock wall; however, the mutant's freakish strength allows them to chip away at it with ease. Hyena's hands shift through a series of seals…

" _Lava Release: Vitrifying Volcanic Torrent!_ " The rocky barricade becomes a wall of lava, splashing onto the hoard, but this doesn't stop the mutants; they begin crawling from and over the molten rock.

Parrot has a fair amount of difficulty translating the foreign letter-keys, but types at a reasonable pace on the terminal. He uses Fūinjutsu (sealing techniques) to replicate and decode the sealing matrix; thus allowing him to bypass the blast door's security measures and disengage the locks. However, the chakra barrier requires an access code in a language he doesn't understand, nor has the time to.

" _Hurry the hell up Meiji! We can't hold these molten morons back forever!_ " Hyena voices as she cuts down another mutant covered in lava.

" _Fuck this! Ya know!_ " Parrot fumes. He punches through the wall, below the terminal and rips out its circuitry. Parrot sends a jolt of chakra into the terminal, overloading the security seals, and deactivating the barrier. " _I can't hold it open for long!_ " Pelican and Hyena rush through the door, Parrot pulls his arm from the wall then dives through before the chakra barrier reseals.

Music: Secure Place – Resident Evil 2

The trio of Anbu continue down the abandon bunker, towards an elevator. Pelican and Hyena notice Parrot's blood dripping on the floor. Pelican places his hand on Parrot's shoulder, " _We should patch you up before advancing any further._ " He suggest.

" _He's right baby brother, you've been leaking head juices since we first saved your sorry ass!_ " Hyena chimes in. " _How are you even conscious?_ "

Parrot sighs, but agrees. " _Alright, but let's make this quick; it's only a matter of time before those things find us again; ya know._ "

The Anbu descend to the lower levels of the bunker to an abandon bomb shelter. The shelter has various terminals and mainframes; many of which are on fire and beyond salvageable. They search the control room, finding nothing but empty crates and an armory void of any weapons or supplies. Pelican kicks down a locked door; inside a small office he finds a dead enemy general, with both eyes missing, sitting at a desk. A chill shoots up Pelican's spine as he recognizes the general's face. He flips through his bingo book to confirm the body's identity.

" _Holy fuck! It really is him!_ " Pelican blurts.

Parrot rushes into the office with Hyena not far behind, " _The hell's goin' on here- Shit! What the fuck!_ "

Hyena almost jumps out of her skin, " _What!? How? Why would he just… Is it really him!?_ "

Pelican tosses the book towards Hyena, " _Yep that's him alright: Major General, Gunsche Alcubierre Lecarde, The Butcher of Valbarow Bay…"_

" _The same bastard that kicked our asses all up n' down Yuki no Kuni? That very same bastard that goes toe to toe with log-damned Izuna and Tobirama… AND fucking wins!?_ "

" _Hell I ain't complainin'!_ " Parrot scoffs, "At _least we ain't dealin' with this monster, ya know._ "

Pelican notices the blood splattered on the wall above Gunche's head, and the bullet-hole on his peaked cap; which he takes as a souvenir, " _You won't be needing this anymore; you genocidal fuck!_ " Pelican scowls, kicking the corpse off the chair.

Hyena searches the dead general for any items, or Intel; she takes his dog tags, the pistol he used to off himself and a keycard in one of the pockets, which she hands to Parrot. Parrot looks through the file cabinets and safes for any important documents that'll aid the ASF's war effort, but comes up short. Nothing of importance is found, and the hard drives on every computer are either missing, or fried. Most of the documents are in a language none of them can understand, so they take everything. Parrot seals the papers into a scroll and the general's body into another; though he doubts the body's usefulness without its brain intact. Nevertheless, watching the Yamanaka try and unscramble what's left of it will provide some entertainment. Parrot scrapes the brain matter off the wall, then seals it with the body while mumbling about ' _creepy mindreading cock-suckers_.' Hyena examines the handgun; it's reminiscent of a Mauser 9mm pistol with two barrels. She presses a small switch on the weapon, causing one of its magazines to fall onto the desk.

" _Have you figured out how that thing works?_ " Pelican asks

" _Sort of, both cartridges are empty and there isn't any ammo laying around._ " Hyena replies

" _What about the rounds you found in the armory?_ "

" _These?_ " Hyena asks. " _Sadly 7.62x39 won't work with this type of weapon. I'll need either 9 or 10mm for it to function properly_."

" _Damn, I was hoping you found one of those chakra based weapons some of those Syndy boys carry._ "

 _"If you do find one, it's best not to pick those up; Ya know._ " Parrot explains, " _They usually have seals on them that detonate the second it's touched by anyone other than its intended user._ " He continues. " _You're lucky the weapon you have didn't do the same, or worse!_ " Parrot uses the keycard to activate the enemy general's computer. The terminal surges to life; he accesses its administrative files, but discovers they've been wiped clean, and formatted. However, this doesn't prevent him from gaining entry into the surveillance network. Each of the monitors reveal various locations throughout the city, which takes him by surprise. " _So this is how they've been able to respond so quickly on the battlefield!_ "

" _What the hell is all of this?_ " Pelican asks.

" _That's what I'm trying to figure out; ya know. From what I've gathered, it's probably how the SSR constantly knows our location, where we'll be, and where to strike when we're most vulnerable._ "

" _There's gotta be a way we can contact the ASF from here. We've got to let them know how fucked our situation is, so they can call off the invasion, and have the tailed beasts nuke this log-forsaken continent into oblivion!_ "

" _Trust me, that was the first thing I tried; ya know, but the COMMS towers are either heavily damaged, or offline._ "

"Fuck… _We only need one of them functioning right? Can't we repair it from here?_ "

" _No, the COMMS towers are scattered throughout the city, and the nearest undamaged one is on top of the police station, on the other side of town._ "

Hyena sighs, looking towards the monitor, "Assuming we _make it there, we still have to worry about Valkyrie pickin' us off from the roof tops._ "

Pelican notices something on one of the cameras, " _Not necessarily, look!_ "

Parrot zooms in, bringing the image into focus, " _As expected, Slug and Captain Raven have Valkyrie on the run. This is excellent; maybe gettin' one of those COMMS towers up n' runnin' again ain't so far-fetched after all._ "

" _But what about that other sniper Raven spotted with her_ _Sharingan_ _? Surly this'll be a problem for us._ " Hyena remarks.

" _With only one sniper to deal with, we should have an easier time flanking the enemy._ " Parrot responds; he pulls up another screen on the monitor, " _We even know exactly where that son-of-a bitch is now, thanks to these devices._ "

" _Still, it's quite risky,_ " Pelican advises. " _Their weapons can_ _annihilate a target beyond even a Hyūga's field of vision._ "

" _We can't go at it from below neither, the streets are infested with those things._ " Hyena adds.

" _Can't go at it from the side, can't go at it from below…_ "

" _So we'll hit that mother fucker from above, ya know!_ " Parrot declares. " _As long as we stay on the upper levels of those oversized buildings, we should be able to avoid getting eaten alive, and mitigate our chances of running right into the enemy's crosshairs."_

XXX

Music: Hiroshima (Apocalypse) - Kenji Kawai

After careful planning and consideration, the trio devise a workable means of attack; overall, their plan boils down to killing the enemy sniper, repairing a COMMS tower, and using it to re-establish contact with the ASF. The Anbu reach the upper floors, through a hidden stairwell. They rush through the halls, keeping their distance from the windows and destroyed sections of the buildings to avoid drawing sniper fire to their location. Pelican takes point, disarming the numerous traps in their path while leading his team to safety. Each building the trio stumble into has its own set of dangers to contend with: some have mutants lurking in the shadows, some are loaded with traps, and the others are at risk of collapsing due to the weakening structural integrity. Their proximity to the sniper is apparent by how numerous and elaborate the traps become. Despite that, the mutants present the biggest problem; no matter where or how far the Anbu run, the mutants are able to track them down. Pelican even notices some of the mutants from the safe house are after them.

" _If we don't lose these things fast, they'll give away our pos-_ " A bullet imbeds itself into the wall, forcing Pelican to dive for cover as yet another round destroys an adjacent section of a stone pillar.

" _So much for the element of surprise._ " Hyena sputters. " _Those damn things lead that bitch right to us!"_

 _"Actually, this may work in our favor."_

Hyena looks towards Pelican like he grew a second head, _"The fuck? How?"_

 _"Simple, we know where the sniper is, all we need to do is lead these monsters towards our target."_

"I see, _they'll flood into the lower floors, cutting off any avenues of escape the sniper may have while getting rid of the traps for us._ " Parrot concludes.

Pelican snaps his fingers and points at Parrot, " _Exactly, if we're lucky we may even capture the enemy!_ "

Hyena cracks her knuckles, " _I'll do the interrogating…_ "

" _All I ask is five minutes alone with the prisoner. My arm may be healed, but I haven't forgotten_." Pelican avows, massaging the scar on his reattached arm.

" _Hey, hey, hey! I get a turn too; ya know! I PERSONALLY want to make that piece-a-shit pay for killing Lance!_ " Parrot asserts.

The Anbu hear the mutants swarming not far behind. They sprint towards the next skyscraper, navigating their way through the concrete jungle, while using the ruins and smoke as cover. On occasion, a stray mutant(s) will attack, but is avoided, or sent flying off a building. The trio reach their destination; as Pelican predicts, the mutants flood into the entrances… Then all hell breaks loose.

XXX

Music: Doom [Classic] e1m5

Explosions rock the skyscraper in an ascending order as the hoard advances up the floors. Random body parts and furniture fly in the air. Spring-loaded punji traps swing out, smashing into the mutants wandering by, sending handfuls of them crashing through the windows. Some of the mutants stick to the punji steaks as they hang outside. Every third window, a huge steel girder crashes through, launching the mutants away, groups at a time. Each of the zombie-like creatures are on fire by the time they reach the fifth floor, with another eleven stories to go. Erratic stone spikes project outward from various sections of the building, with rows of burning mutants skewered onto them. The mutants wander into an ambuscade of lightning jutsu traps that illuminate the entirety of the upper floors, disintegrating and launching their scorched, mangled bodies in every direction. At this point, the skyscraper resembles a giant, blazing Tesla coil that's risen from the deepest depths of hell, discharging arks of lightning, while explosions perpetuate throughout each floor. Stone spikes with rows of singed bodies on them (many still twitching) decorate the building's walls. Rows of glowing hot, electrified rebar impale the mutants scaling the surfaces, hurling them through the air before they burst like overheating eggs in a microwave.

The chaos dies down as the blazing hoard lights up the pitch black 13th floor; at first silence, then blood splatters onto the unbroken windows. Parrot, Pelican, and Hyena observe the new soundless mayhem occurring from afar, wondering what sort of traps can be causing this.

Pelican notices he's been holding his breath the whole time, and exhales. " _Fucking hell, just how much of that shit was meant for us!?_ "

A small chuckle escapes from Hyena, " _That's one way to get that sniper's attention away from us, I suppose."_

 _"Yeah, good thing we took the long way, right Parr- The hell!?_ " Pelican notices Parrot laughing to himself. " _Um, you alright over there, man_?"

Hyena rushes over to Parrot, grabs his shoulders, and begins shaking him, " _Log-damn it! You've certainly picked a hell of a time to start losing your shit, don't cha know! Snap out of it, Meiji!"_

" _There goes that verbal tic you share with your brother._ " Pelican snickers.

" _Fuck off! Both of you!_ " Parrot huffs " _I'm trying to imagine the look on that bastard's face once those abominations come rushin' in through the-_ "

XXX

Multiple high-pitched, blood curdling screams reverberate through the air, interrupting Parrot. The temperature drops several degrees, the air feels like a thick sludge, the trio's limbs feel like a weight or some unseen force is pulling them down as they struggle to move. The phenomenon catches the Anbu off guard, but wears off after three seconds due to them being somewhat out of range.

Parrot sees his breath as he exhales in the cold air; his body regains movement. " _W-W-What the actual fuck, ya know!_ " he says, shivering.

Pelican does his best to focus, and disrupt his chakra flow through repeating uses of the word " _Kai!_ " in an attempt to break what he assumes is genjutsu, but this doesn't seem to be the case, which disturbs him. " _This sure as hell isn't genjutsu…_ "

Hyena manages to stand on her feet; however, her knees feel like noodles, " _We could be dealing with 'kekkei genkai' users. Not gonna lie though, those 'screams' scared the ever-loving shit outa me._ " Hyena uses her binoculars to scout out the 13th through 16th floor; she confirms the sniper's location, but something else catches her attention.

Parrot notices his sister focusing on one of the floors, " _See anything, sis?_ "

" _There all just standing there; frozen in place, just like we were moments ago._ " Hyena focuses her binoculars; bringing up a rather peculiar image. " _There's something moving slowly towards the hoard; there are dozens of them, humanoid in shape._ "

This catches Pelican's attention, " _Great, more Syndys to deal with?_ "

" _No, these things move too slow to be enemy ninja. They're grabbing on to the hoard, and… Catching themselves on fire in the process, ok these things are definitely not human._ "

This both surprises and concerns Parrot, " _If the enemy's found a way to make those things turn on each other, then we've got bigger issues; ya know…_ "

" _There's movement! The hoard's just piling on top of those creatures now._ " Hyena continues. " _This is getting really weird._ "

"Indeed, but _they're distracted, and now's our chance!_ " Parrot resounds, " _There's nowhere else that bastard can run to;_ _we'll set up an ambush on the upper floor and capture that penisless sniper!"_

Pelican surveys the rooftops for any signs of genjutsu or traps before determining a safe area to land. He gets to work, disarming the numerous explosives, and spring loaded rebar steaks, some of which are hidden with genjutsu, making them all the more difficult to locate. Pelican has a fair amount of difficulty disarming the traps, many of which he couldn't help but admire the intricacy and sophistication of. " _For log's sake, not only is this mother fucker creative, but clearly knows what the hell they're doing._ " He hisses. "Son-of-a-whore! _These could've easily taken out a Tokubesu J_ _ōnin_!" Pelican disarms the traps to the best of his ability; thus, is able to clear a safe path for Parrot and Hyena to land. " _Alright Uzumaki, you're up._ "

" _Which one?_ " Hyena jests.

" _I'm talking to YOU, fire-crotch_."

Parrot and Hyena look towards each other, then back at Pelican, " _Which one?_ " they both say in unison

Pelican sighs " _Which ever one of you knows how to disarm_ _Fūinjutsu_ _without getting us sealed away, or blown to kingdom co-_ "

" _Already done, ya racist rectal ranger._ " Parrot chides as he finishes disarming the final seals.

" _Says a xenophobic knob jockey._ " Pelican retorts.

" _Oh, I know the colon cowboy ain't over there talkin'; ya know!_ "

" _So what if I am you drill billy!_ "

" _Fanny bandit!_ "

" _Cock Captain!_ "

" _Goo goblin!_ "

" _Man-flute master!_ "

" _Fuckin' back-door butler!_ "

" _Ahem!_ " Hyena interrupts, " _If you two 'bend over buddies' are ready to cut down the 'ass-frolic', I'd like to tear out that sniper's heart, and feel it beating in my hands; TONIGHT preferably…_ "

" _Fair enough, sis. Still we need a plan to lure the enemy onto the 16th floor; ya know._ " Parrot walks to the roof access hatch then opens it. He hand gestures for his team mates to follow, " _I've got it"_ he announces.

Pelican crosses his arms and leans against a wall, " _Alright, let's hear it egghead._ "

" _It's simple really._ _Pelican, you're our engineer; therefore, locating and disarming traps isn't an issue for you, so you'll take point while Hyena, being the strongest out of the three of us, covers you."_

Pelican raises an eyebrow at this (not that anyone could see, because of his mask). " _So where's your part in all this?_ " He quarries.

" _Easy, once you two flush out the sniper, I'll have an ambush set up n' ready; then we'll have the enemy cornered!_ "

" _I could just use earth jutsu and collapse the upper floors onto that cocksucker._ "

" _True; but then, we wouldn't be able to confirm the kill; ya know. Besides, don't you want your 'five minutes in heaven' with the person that probably blew off your fap hand?"_

Pelican walks towards the access hatch and sighs, " _I suppose I still do, but another part of me just wants the mother fucker dead. I really don't care how at this point._ "

 _"Tell ya what Glen, if we capture the sniper alive, I'll even let you do your thing. Ya know, your weird thing that I don't really approve of…"_ Pelican's head snaps towards Parrot. A creepy grin forms on his face; Pelican may be wearing a mask, but Parrot knows he got through to him.

Pelican's lone, light-green eye shines through his mask, " _Deal, but you and your sister can't interfere with my work this time…_ "

Hyena rolls her _eyes, "Of all the things we can learn from a civilization, vastly different from our own, we appropriate and propagate THE worst aspects of it!"_

Parrot places his hand on Hyena's shoulder, " _I understand your concerns sis; yes its a shameful act, and yes it IS frowned upon,"_ he glares at Pelican, " _but it's just one of those things the ASF must tolerate to keep this fragile alliance together, at least until the war's over."_

" _I'm not understanding what the big deal is?_ " Pelican appeals. " _Our enemies did it to us first on the battlefields, I'm simply returning the favor by quote on quote 'teaching them severest lesson of who towers above thee'!_ "

" _Then what the hell are we waiting for? Let's fucking do this shit!"_ Hyena urges.

" _What's with the sudden change of heart?_ " Pelican questions

 _"Oh, I uh… Need to supervise the event to um; ya know, make sure the sniper isn't killed in the process._ "

 _"You could've just said you wanted to wat-"_

 **TWACK!**

 _"TOASTY~!"_

Hyena Spartan kicks Pelican down the pitch black access hatch. He backflips, righting himself mid-air, then sticks a perfect three-point landing pose.

" _Fuckin' short stack…_ " Pelican mutters.

Hyena, pinching the bridge of her nose, takes a deep breath, " _We'll have the enemy in position in ten minutes tops, so be ready._ " She gives Parrot a two-finger salute and steps down the hatch.

Now, Parrot's a lot of things, but stupid just ain't one of them; he knows his sister is wiping the blood from her nostrils. " _You're such a perv, sis…_ " he mumbles.

Music: Cavern – The legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D

Hyena lands in the sixteenth floor of the skyscraper; it's empty. There's no furniture, no decorations, or windows, just stone pillars supporting a blank room, resembling a cave. The moonlight and occasional flash of lightning shines through the access hatch as she observes her surroundings. Hyena notices the torches on every other pillar until she spots Pelican across the chamber. He communicates through sign language to, " _proceed with caution_ " as he surveys the area for traps. After a thorough sweep, Pelican concludes it's safe to advance, and gives the " _all clear_ " signal. He finds it a bit odd the sixteenth floor is void of any traps; it doesn't make sense to him considering how well defended the remainder of the building is. Hyena follows behind Pelican as he heads towards the door, her eyes scrutinize the darkness for any signs of movement or an ambush; regardless, there is nothing but silence, and the crackling of torches. Pelican sees a rather peculiar sight; as he expects, the door is locked. The type of lock is uncommon; it resembles a thin, metal box, tilting sideways, protruding from the door, with a keyhole in the center, and is chained to the door frame's corners. Pelican finds this rather amusing, if the light chuckle is anything to go by. He gives a quick sweep of the door for any traps and begins picking the lock. Pelican gives the hand sign for " _light_ " at Hyena. The moment she ignites the two torches, flanking Pelican, a noise both startles and draws their attention. Hyena and Pelican look towards the high pitch buzzing sound; they see several small orange orbs of light spiraling around what appears to be a transparent chest. Once the buzzing ceases, the random chest materializes.

Pelican and Hyena both exchange a, " _what the fuck_ " glance at each other before looking back at the 'magical treasure chest'. Parrot, observing the whole ordeal through the access hatch with his eyebrow raised, and his head tilting sideways is just as confused as his teammates. Hyena pulses her chakra in small waves, whispering the word " _Kai_ " in an attempt to dispel any genjutsu that may be present; however, the trunk remains. Pelican shrugs at Hyena, then walks over to the chest; he checks for any wires, or explosives, but finds nothing. It's just a random, unguarded box. Rather than wasting time picking the lock, he kicks the small chest, breaking it open. Hyena sees Pelican walking towards the door with a small key in his hand; he puts the key in the lock, and turns it. There's a loud 'clank', the chains recede into the door frame, the lock ejects the key from its socket, then sinks into the door which ascends open. The next room is smaller and empty, save for a solitary torch. There's a trap door in the center of the room with a ladder sticking from it. After a careful search around the small room Pelican determines it's secure, and gestures for Hyena to follow behind. They descend onto the fifteenth floor, which resembles a lengthy, storage hall with empty shelves and cabinets, flickering florescent lights, and a marble floor. The two Anbu creep down the hallway, being mindful of the pressure plates hidden by the tiles. A constant feeling of unease washes over Hyena the moment she crosses the threshold into an empty, circular room; Pelican feels it too. The temperature drops several degrees, the room becomes a soundless void; they begin hearing their own heartbeats. Hyena's senses are screaming at her: ' _Something's terribly wrong with this place!_ ' She notices the indentations on the red rug…

XXX

Music: Battle – The legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D

" _Enemies spotted_ " Hyena signals to Pelican. The two Anbu halt a few steps away from the stairs. " _Five total; two front, three behind._ " Someone, or something invisible is standing there, not moving, nor attacking. Pelican draws his sword, as does Hyena.

" _Defensive formation._ " Pelican gestures. Back-to-back, they ready themselves for combat. Hyena's grip tightens around her blade, anticipating Pelican dispersing the genjutsu. " _Kai_ " he whispers, pulsing his chakra and dispelling the illusion.

The genjutsu drops in an instant, the deafening silence ceases; the sight that appears before Hyena and Pelican is horrifying. The indentations on the rug materialize into grotesque, humanoid figures that resemble masked, emaciated corpses, slouching forward with their arms hanging. Pelican and Hyena stand fast, eager to counter-attack at the drop of a hat. Pelican awaits the creatures charging any second, but the onslaught never comes. Instead, the creature's glowing, red eyes fade as they lower their heads. Their low-pitched, zombie-like moans reverberate throughout the room, in sync with one another, in a tone that raises and lowers twice before drawing off and repeating; almost like the creatures are weeping. After the initial shock of witnessing what appears to be five weeping corpses, wearing wooden masks, appear out of nowhere, Hyena gains her bearings, and analyzes the situation. At once, she as well as Pelican deduce the masked creatures are nothing more than an amateur's failed attempt at clay-clone jutsu, instead of actual living corpses. The clay-clones remain motionless and continue to moan. Hyena scrutinizes the masked creatures for the slightest movement, or weakness. They appear defenseless; their purpose remains unclear. Hyena's patience is wearing thin; she scoffs and prepares to lunge at the humanoid figures, but sees this has an effect on them.

The moaning pauses, the creature's eyes glow through the eye holes in their wooden masks, their heads raise as if alerted by something. Pelican and Hyena brace themselves, remaining stationary and vigilant, yet the masked creatures do not attack. Pelican gets a good look at their exposed gums and teeth through the mouth-holes in their reddish-orange, wooden masks. He shudders at the thought of how their faces look. Once again, their glowing, red eyes fade as they lower their heads and the zombie-like groans continue. Pelican notices a pattern in the failed clay-clone's behavior; they appear reactionary to sound, or sudden movements. He hypothesizes they act as centuries of some sort that guard, and/or alert the user to an enemy's presence. Pelican decides to test his theory… He taps his foot against the rug; as Pelican expects, the creatures react in the same manner. The moment their eyes fade, Hyena taps her foot as well; thus, confirming his hypothesis: the slightest activity, or sound alerts the clones; moreover, maintaining a gradual pace is paramount to sneaking past them. Either way, Pelican and Hyena are outnumbered and surrounded; therefore, picking a fight with at least the two creatures, blocking the stairs is a forgone conclusion, but therein lies the question: how will the rest react? Pelican isn't taking any chances; he raises his hand slow enough not to draw the ghoulish creature's attention, then points his fingertips at the three in front of him. His bones emerge from his forearm… " _Attack_." He signals to Hyena. She blitzes the clay-clones standing in front of the stairs in a flash of blinding speed, leaving behind an afterimage.

A cannonade of skeletal bullets launch from Pelican's finger tips; the boney spikes protruding from his forearm sink into his skin like belt-fed magazines. Before the creatures can react, Hyena appears before them, slamming her foot into one of their heads. She uses her momentum to roundhouse kick the adjacent clay-clone against the wall. After knocking the creatures off balance, Hyena follows up on her attack with a merciless succession of rapid slashes and strikes against their gummy flesh. Pelican fires his 'Five-Finger Drilling Bullets' into the creature's center mass, stumbling them back as their arms flail and heads shake from the continuous bone fragment bombardment. So far, Pelican's straight-forward strategy of ' _hitting them hard, fast, and out of nowhere with overwhelming force before they can react_ ' is proving effective. In the blink of an eye he charges forward, driving his knee square into the middle creature's sternum, sending it flying into a stone pillar. Pelican lands between the two remaining clay-clones, wielding his sword in a reverse grip; a short, bone-hilted sword springs out from his other palm.

" _Ninja art: Dance of the Camellia!_ " Pelican erupts in a whirlwind of afterimages, hacking and slicing away at the clay-clones. His subsequent offensive against the creatures is chaotic and continuous. Pelican's movements appear irregular with each sword thrust changing direction at random angles. Each time he strikes or cuts the failed clay-clones, dark-blue slime squirts out as they emit low-pitch groans of pain. Pelican almost finds the creature's reactions hilarious, until he realizes they're still standing after taking excessive amounts of damage.

Hyena's endless assault continues; at first, she doesn't mind the free target practice, for it allows her something to take her frustrations out on, but watching something absorb blow after blow with nothing to show for it other than a repetitive grown of agony, gets old fast…. _"Fucking die already!"_ Hyena roars. She enhances her blade with chakra, preparing one final attack, but the failed clay-clone reacts; it catches her wrist… Hyena gasps, her eyes widen.

" _Ninja art: Dance of the Seedling Fer-_ " Before Pelican can complete his technique, he hears two blood-curdling screams, and finds himself unable to move.

XXX

Once again, the temperature drops below freezing, the air becomes thick like syrup, Hyena's limbs feel like they each weigh a ton; like some unseen force is pulling them down. Her body feels like it's been thrown into a tub of ice water; her shivering is uncontrollable. The sudden drop in temperature causes Hyena's teeth to chatter

" _F-F-FU-FU-FUCKING C-COLD!_ " she stutters. Hyena sees the creature she kicked over a stone block stand, then begin shuffling and staggering towards her. " _OHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHIT!_ " is all she can think before feeling a hand slap down on her shoulder.

The humanoid figure behind Hyena slams her over the stone block as two more blood curdling screams rip through the room, prolonging the paralysis. She opens her eyes, and sees where the screams came from; across the circular room, Hyena finds Pelican just as helpless as she is. The two ghoulish creatures flanking Pelican lurch towards him. The creature he sent crashing into a stone pillar stands, it looks towards him, its eyes glow through its mask before letting out a blood curdling shriek just like the other failed clay-clones did, prolonging the paralysis even further. Hyena sees three failed clay-clones making their way towards Pelican. Realizing they're at the complete mercy of these things, she begins crying,

" _No, not like this…_ " She feels the creature's hands clasp together on her face and the back of her head. Anxiety grows as Hyena wonders what sort of cruel painful death these things have in store for them. The creature turns Hyena's head towards itself, adjusting its grip. She sees just how hideous the failed clay-clone is. Tears stream down her face as she closes her eyes, and awaits the inevitable, " _I'm so sorry baby brother, I only wish I could've been a better-_ "

 **SMACK** " _Grawmp_ "

" _Ouch…"_

 **SMACK** " _Grawmp_ "

 _"Ow… What the fuck!?"_

 **SMACK** " _Grawmp_ "

Hyena opens her eyes, she sees the failed clay-clone standing there. She feels its fingers on the back of her head as its palms squeeze against her temples. The failed clay-clone behind Hyena tightens its grip on her shoulder. She sees the creature placing its other hand behind its hip, through her peripheral vision…

 **SMACK** " _Grawmp_ " Something hits her in the face yet again.

" _OW!_ "Hyena looks up; she can't see the creature's eyes through its wooden mask, but knows it's looking right at her.

 **THUMP** " _Grawmp_ "

" _OOF!_ " Now the one behind her is doing it too! " _Did… Did that thing just…_ " Hyena's eyes widen as she starts to realize what's happening.

 **SMACK** " _Grawmp_ " **THUMP** " _Grawmp_ " **SMACK** " _Grawmp_ " **THUMP** " _Grawmp_ " **SMACK** " _Grawmp_ " **THUMP** " _Grawmp_ " **SMACK** " _Grawmp_ " **THUMP** " _Grawmp_ "

Pelican gasps, his pupils dilate; the failed clay-clone's rhythm and speed horrifies him. He struggles to move, but an unseen force restricts his movement, forcing Pelican to watch in abject terror at the spectacle before him. A clay-clone surprises Pelican with a reverse bear-hug; panic washes over him like a freezing tidal wave, " _NO! GET OFF ME! NO!"_ Another failed clay-clone, in front of Pelican, reaches around his neck for leverage, causing Pelican's mask to fall off. The masked creature then lifts Pelican's leg, resting his thigh between its forearm and bicep. " _STOP! DON'T! NO! NO!_ " The Irony of his predicament isn't lost on Pelican; in fact, it dawns on him like a powerful, pelvic thrust…

 **THUMP** " _Grawmp_ "

" _ARGHAAAHHH!_ "

 **PHAP** " _Grawmp_ "

" _UGHAAAHH!_ "

 **THUMP** " _Grawmp_ " **PHAP** " _Grawmp_ "

" _NO! NO_!"

 **THUMP** " _Grawmp_ " **PHAP** " _Grawmp_ "

" _STOOOP! NOOOOOO!_ "

 **THUMP** " _Grawmp_ " **PHAP** " _Grawmp_ " **THUMP** "Grawmp" **PHAP** "Grawmp" **THUMP** " _Grawmp_ " **PHAP** " _Grawmp_ " **THUMP** " _Grawmp_ " **PHAP** " _Grawmp_ " **THUMP** " _Grawmp_ "

" _AAHHHH! AAAHHHHHGH!"_

(Over 1300 meters away – A few hours ago)

Music: Bodies – Drowning Pool

A large window shatters on a distant, war-torn skyscraper; a torrent of mutated corpses plummet onto the streets like a perverse waterfall. The stream roars louder, increasing in size as more windows shatter. The steep cascade thunders onto the streets and hordes of mutants flooding into the skyscraper. The bodies hit the floor, bursting like bloody water balloons; gore and limbs splatter everywhere. Inside the war-torn skyscraper, Slug and Raven stare aghast at the shocking display. Without fail, the 'Revolving Accelerator Rings' hurl the mutants through the halls, and out the windows at an alarming rate. Before long, an entire hoard congests the corridors, bottlenecking the threshold. A considerable amount of mutants smash into the walls rather than out the windows then chase after Raven and Slug. Raven fights her way through the oncoming mutants; maiming, decapitating, even bisecting the assailants, but they and their severed limbs persist and continue their relentless assault. Slug resorts to using water jutsu; he drenches the cubicle farm, putting out the inferno while fending off the mutants, but there are too many to fight. The mutants force him into close-quarters-combat. With one hand, and a gallon of water, Slug slices through, or blasts away anything within range; however, the mutants that get close enough are cut down with the sword he wields in his other hand. Raven and Slug fend off waves of mutants at a time, which force the two Anbu to withdraw. They use their chakra to run up the surface of the walls; however the mutants are able to as well and continue chasing after them.

XXX

Music: Eagle Claw Part 2 – Call of Duty: Black Ops

On the next floor, Slug and Raven sprint through the corridors with the mutants not far behind. Raven, being the stronger of the two, takes point, cutting down anything that tries ambushing from above, or through the numerous rooms lining the burnt out halls. At the end of the corridor, they see a heavy industrial door sliding open, almost as if someone is letting them in. A monitor above the metal door crackles, emitting a horrible white noise. The image resolution is poor, but they can recognize Elias taunting them through it.

" _I wasn't expecting you two to make it this far._ "

The industrial door closes behind Raven and Slug. They pick up their pace through the quasi endless halls, evading the random mutants wandering about, and immobilizing any that pose a threat. Around the fifth corner, Raven sees the next door opening; the hazy image on the monitor causes her and Slug to grit their teeth in anger.

" _You know that I control rather you live, or die in this place._ "

Continuing through the narrow path, they come across a two-way intersection; a decision between left or right closes in fast. " _Don't split up, stay together!_ " Raven commands. She focuses her chakra into her eyes, activating her dōjutsu. " _Left!_ " Slug follows behind, keeping pace as Raven guides them through the treacherous halls. They manage to lose the mutants chasing behind them, but the zombie like moans and constant banging against the walls become louder, echoing throughout the floors and vents. Raven, again uses her dōjutsu to scout ahead. Past the final junction, she spots two industrial doors opening; one leads to relative safety, the other towards certain death. Raven gasps, " _Double time it, Slug!_ " With a sense of urgency, they speed towards the next set of sliding doors. After turning the corner, Slug sees the two doors opening. His eyes widen; the mutants are flooding through one of the doors, and down the hall towards them. Raven and Slug race towards the intersection, hoping they make it there before the hoard does. They are almost intercepted by the mutants, but manage to leap over them and sprint towards the safe path. The monitors flanking the industrial door begins transmitting; a clear image of Elias appears on screen.

" _Hehheheh_ , _do you honestly think you'll make it out of here alive?_ "

Through the following passageway, the security shutters on the windows close one after the other, forcing Slug and Raven to proceed forward. The hall begins changing and contorting until it resembles an endless spiral extending the gateway further abroad. Slug brings his index and middle finger at eye level, and curls the rest of his fingers into his palm. " _Kai_ " he mutters, dispelling the genjutsu. The illusion dispels, the room straightens, and the door comes into focus. Raven and Slug dash through the gateway as Elias continues taunting them.

" _I beat the both of you single-handedly; it's foolish to challenge me again."_

Slug picks up another chakra signature close by, Raven senses it too. They proceed further, the blank portrait frames along the walls begin filling out. The paintings both alarm and disturb the Anbu. Raven and Slug recognize the deceased people appearing in each of them: their teammates, their respective friends, family, and even loved ones appear as lifeless corpses, mere moments after their deaths.

" _You'll die, just like they have._ "

Seething with rage, Raven and Slug dispel the genjutsu, the paintings fade to blank canvases. Rather than demoralizing, or tormenting the Anbu, the act of cruelty strengthens their resolve. Slug and Raven surge through the final sliding door into a courtyard where Elias awaits.

XXX

" _Well, well, well,_ " Elias jests in between claps. " _Looks like you two—OH SHIT!_ "

Music: Title Theme – Double Dragon Neon

Raven and Slug are having none of it; no stereotypical evil villain monologues, no compromises, no mercy. They blitz Elias on the spot, almost catching him off guard. Elias leans backwards as the Anbu burst through the one way glass window, into the bar, trying to tackle him. They fly right over Elias as he executes a back-walkover to remain on his feet. Slug lunges at Elias for a double-leg takedown, but Elias B-twists over him, then leapfrogs over Raven before she can grab him. The Anbu rush Elias again, not sparing him the slightest chance to draw his weapon, or counter. Regardless, facing two opponents at once, in close quarters combat puts Elias at a severe disadvantage. All he can do is dodge, or evade using their own momentum against them. Elias realizes they're trying to incapacitate him using takedowns, submission holds and chakra suppressing seals. This is a fight he cannot allow them to take to the ground; otherwise, he'll be torn limb from limb. Slug assails Elias using short jabs and strikes, aimed at his vitals, but Elias blocks, deflects, and counter attacks the rapid onslaught with his hands, wrists, forearms, and elbows. Slug blocks a back knife-hand strike, ducks under a right hook, and retaliates with a front kick.

" _Observe the difference of our strength._ " Elias goads, deflecting the first kick with the side of his boot then catches the second kick between his forearms. Elias yanks Slug forward, grabs the back of Slug's head and wrist, and drives his knee into Slug's abdomen, doubling him over. Elias rolls onto Slug's back, parts his legs while spinning, and kicks Raven in the face. Elias pushes upward, straightens his legs and body, sticks a paper tag on Slug's back then jumps away. Raven does a handless round-off over Slug, grabs the paper tag, sticks it to a kunai and throws it back at Elias. The second the kunai leaves Raven's hand, Elias uses 'Kawarimi' (substitution justsu) to switch himself with the paper tag and kick Raven into a sofa (by mistake). " _Ha, ha, ha. I'm too quick for you!_ "

Slug snatches Elias's wrist, hip throws him, but Elias catches Slug in a flying triangle choke. He absorbs what little chakra he can then uses Slug's arm to pull himself up. Elias slams his elbow onto Slug's head, then tornado kicks the tall Anbu over the bar counter. Elias sidesteps both of Raven's consecutive axe kicks, avoids a spinning hook kick then ducks under a tornado kick. Raven attempts a third axe kick, but Elias valdezes (basically a back-walkover, starting from a sitting position **.** ) away as her heel shatters a wooden plank. Elias aerials over a roundhouse kick then counters with an axe kick of his own. Raven evades, but ends up on the defensive. She blocks and deflects a chain of quick jabs, pokes, rapid knife hand strikes, while countering various joint locks and choke holds. Raven thrusts her knee into Elias's chest, stumbling him back then drop kicks him across the bar counter. Slug gets up, massaging his head; he hears glass bottles breaking then sees Elias sliding towards him. Slug kicks Elias in the face before he can slide off the counter, hurtling him across the bar.

"TOASTY~!"

Elias straightens his body, corkscrews midair to stabilize himself, and lands, sitting on the sofa. He crosses his legs then catches the glass cup and bottle of whisky, falling towards him. " _Oh, you finally hit me,"_ Elias purrs, serving himself the alcoholic beverage, " _fantastic…_ " He tosses back the whisky in one gulp, exhales and washes it down with an adjacent bottle of beer. Slug and Raven scowl at him with utter astonishment at his audacity. They both exchange a, ' _this mother fucker did NOT just do that in front of us_ ' glance at each other before glaring back at Elias. He sees the Anbu reaching over their shoulders…

 **SHIIIIING**

Raven and Slug stalk towards Elias, drawing their swords. They disappear in flashes of blinding speed, leaving behind afterimages. Elias leans backwards, flipping over the sofa. The Anbu's blades pierce through the fabric, centimeters away from his head. He springs off the ground, dashing away as Slug and Raven chase after him. Elias uses the tables and bar-chairs as cover, zigzagging and eluding the various projectiles hurling at him. He slides under a table, kicks a chair at Raven, but she cuts through it with ease. Elias rolls away, dodging swift stabs, kicks and stomps. He spins on his back, parts his legs then trips Slug. Raven slashes at Elias, but he dodges with a master swipe, catches her head between his boots, and slams it to the ground… Elias can't tell if he's fighting or breakdancing anymore. The Anbu are back on their feet in an instant, unleashing a ferocious onslaught of sword thrusts and swipes. Elias notices a dramatic increase in their speed and precision as he dodges and deflects their blades. He can't keep this up much longer; one lucky shot and they'll realize what he's been doing to them. Slug and Raven's speed increases even further, forcing him to make a tactical retreat. Elias grabs a table leg, wraps the edge with a table cloth then soaks it with whisky. He leaps onto another table and ignites the makeshift torch.

" _It's been fun kickin' your oriental asses, but I gotta TURN AND BURN, BITCHES!_ "

" _You're not going anywhere you depraved little minx!_ " Raven roars, lunging through the air at Elias.

Slug and Raven are but a hairs breath away from him; too late did they realize what he means by 'turn and burn' for Elias does just that…

XXX—comedic record scratch no jutsu!

 **PPBBBFFFFTTBOOM!**

" _DAAAYMN!"_ Elias yelps as he flips forward then hurls out the window, into the courtyard. Little did he know, chakra enhancing a fart can backfire (no pun intended) in more ways than one.

Slug and Ravens eyes widen; the fireball sends them tumbling through the air, spread-eagle, in the opposite direction.

Elias screams, sprinting for the nearest source of water. He flops his blazing bottom into a koi pond (much to the dismay of the koi), extinguishing his trousers. Elias shudders in relief as the steam hisses and rises from the cold water. Smooth piano jazz plays over the speakers lining the pillars. Droplets of rain tap on the windows as the soft, crackling fireplaces illuminates the courtyard in a dim hue. The ambiance is almost enough to drown out the distant, undead moans…Almost. Across the koi pond, is a large window with an expansive view of the burning city. Elias stands then approaches large the window. He walks alongside the glass pain, sliding his hand across it, reminiscing the years before the Mutagenic Wars.

 **FLASHBACK NO-JUTSU!**

Music: Black Tuesday—Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Elias remembers the Charred Battalion, sieging the city, during the last Continental War. He recalls being in his mid-twenties at the time, commanding a platoon of forty-five Marines as a second lieutenant. The invasion is swift and brutal; Elias and his former genin teammates, now jōnin, with their respective platoons, surround the streets, neutralizing anyone, or anything that dares defending them. Each day, they carve deeper into the inner-city; block by block, building by building, instilling fear and desperation upon the defending armies in a shocking display of their mastery in urbanized warfare. Elias's platoon, as well as many others, race towards the tallest skyscraper, downtown, to be the first to plant the Syndicate of Sovereign Republic's flag for all to see. Elias and his teammates converge on the tower; the three of them storm the building, kill the enemy general, and raise their nation's banner together, as a team. After the city falls, the SSR begins its march towards the enemy's capital. Elias, being part of the occupational force, garrisoned within the city, is ordered to stay behind. He and his teammates exchange their goodbyes as they separate once again, advancing further behind enemy lines without him.

XXX

 **END FLASHBACK…**

With a deep sigh, Elias walks towards the center of the courtyard, focusing his chakra, " _Lightning Release, Duel Flash Ring Jutsu!_ " Two lightning infused, chakra rings phase into existence around Elias. With a few hand seals, the upper ring levitates above his head while the lower ring descends to the surface, around his boots. A beam of light shines from the ring's edges, encircling Elias then disappears, creating an invisible barrier around him. With his arms crossed, he closes his eyes and waits. The barrier emits an electric hum as it projects pulses of high-frequency, electromagnetic waves throughout the courtyard, and back to the source. He detects two chakra signatures, speeding towards him at an alarming rate. Their presence is unmistakable; Elias feels two sudden gusts of wind behind and in front of him. The blustering gale extinguishes the fire places and scatters the lighter furniture around the enclosure. The Anbu make it clear they weren't hiding.

" _Open your eyes…_ "

" _No…_ "

" _Open… Your… Eyes…_ "

" _I said no._ "

Elias senses Raven's unmasked face within a hair's breadth of his own; he squeezes his eyelids tighter, knowing full well, one glimpse into those accursed eyes is all it takes. By manipulating his cerebral nervous system's chakra flow, he resorts to using genjutsu on himself to counteract her visual prowess.

'C'mon, mother fuckers! Just a little closer...' Elias thinks.

" _I know your stalling, Valkyrie. Which is fine by me, but you're only delaying the inevitable._ "

'Do it! Touch the fucking barrier bitch! Just one god-damned touch! I triple dog dare you!'

" _We'll get those eyes lids open one way or another."_ Slug threatens, pulling out his scalpel, " _Quite frankly, I'm hoping you keep them closed and prolong your suffering for as long as possible._ "

'Oh, for the love of…'

"We've caught you, it's over! _Dead or alive, you're coming with us. We have all the time we need to torture your ass until-"_

In less than a nanosecond, Elias cups Raven's chin with his hand and pulls her in.

Music: Rival Chase – Hard Corps: Uprising

 _"RRMPH!?_ "Raven's eyes widen like saucers as her face flushes beet red.

Slug gasps, 'THE BALLZ ON THIS GUY!' he shouts in his mind.

Raven swings her arm as hard, and as fast as she can, aiming a right-hook square at Elias's jaw. Instead of that satisfying impact of her knuckles, slamming into his face, her fist collides with what feels like glass. There's a loud bang; electricity surges through Raven and Slug's bodies, a blinding flash causes them a temporary loss of vision. Their ears are ringing; the disorientating sensation almost feels like a concussion. They stumble around like a couple of drunks, before the affects wear off after a few seconds. Elias knows full well, neutralizing any dōjutsu is critical to victory, or retreat. He also knows if the user(s) isn't as fast (or as smart) as their opponent(s) then all those eyes are good for is seeing their own death before it happens.

" _Catch me if you can!_ " Elias cackles as his 'Duel Flash Rings' rocket him upwards, through the air with a tremendous amount of force. He sways around the suspension walkways, and steel girders in his trajectory. Elias's momentum subsides; he leans backwards, alighting onto a support beam then uses his chakra to stick to its surface. Elias looks down (up from his prospective) and sees the Anbu already gunning for him. He notices Raven charging at him, with her mask back on, which gives him a small chuckle; however, it's what he doesn't see that induces sigh of relief. Elias smiles, knowing the genjutsu is successful and draws his stolen sword.

Raven and Slug come barring down upon Elias, wanting nothing more than to rip out his intestines with their bare hands. Furthering their loss with mockery, they watch with vexation as Elias draws the sword of their fallen comrade. Raven recognizes that blade in an instant, wondering how and when did he find the time to loot Hawk's corpse. Then it dawns on Raven like a Mandingo-Futanari, dick-slapping her across the face: the Byakugan has fallen into enemy hands, yet again. Tobirama and Izuna are recovering at the hospital because of someone using a stolen Byakugan against them. The hairs on the back of Raven's neck rise; imagining Elias with those eyes is enough to give even her goosebumps. She cannot allow this to happen; 'Valkyrie is too dangerous to be left alive at this point.'

" _Can you avoid this?_ " Elias jests, releasing a cluster of explosive tags towards his pursuers.

" _Incoming!_ " Slug warns.

Demonstrating their proficiency with thrown weapons, the Anbu divert the explosive tags away from themselves with professional accuracy and precision. Senbon needles (some with his own explosive tags stuck to them) zip towards Elias, forcing him to evade. Raven and Slug respond in kind with a barrage of projectile based ninjutsu. Elias takes cover behind a wall, preventing himself from being (whichever comes first) incinerated or cut to pieces by pressurized jets of water. The Anbu surge up the stairwell vector after Elias, tossing shuriken and more senbon needles at him. Elias dodges and deflects the inbound projectiles with his sword then uses the 'body flicker technique' to gain some distance. At intervals, he tosses rocks wrapped with paper bombs over his shoulder, like frag grenades. Slug and Raven maneuver around the explosives, eluding the blast radius; however, this slows them down, enabling Elias to gain even further. A triad of mutants tries attacking Elias head-on; he flips the first mutant over the railing then beheads the other two. Elias slaps a couple explosive tags on their backs then kicks them down the stairs, towards the Anbu. Raven and Slug leap over the decapitated mutants, which explode behind them, covering everything with bloody chunks and debris. Elias sprints through the hallway with the Anbu not far behind; in a burst of speed, he slides across the floor, flipping a mutant over, in the air like a rotting burger patty. Elias grabs the airborne mutant and tosses it down the stairwell. The mutant knocks Raven out of the air, but Slug catches her; he swings Raven around and uses the momentum to throw her right back at Elias. Elias looks over his shoulder then sees Raven flying right at him. She slashes at Elias, forcing him to turnabout and parry; Raven seizes the opening and kicks Elias over the railing.

Plummeting through the air, Elias uses his blade to deflect the steel rain hurling at him. He lands on a small bridge, catches a kunai from the air, slaps an explosive tag on it, and throws it back at the Anbu. The tag explodes, but the Anbu are already plunging straight at him with their blades ready. Slug stabs at Elias, but misses; Elias backhand springs away, avoiding Raven's sword as she swings at his neck.

" _This is it!_ " Elias declares, throwing a handful of explosives; he uses the 'body flicker technique' once more before the bombs detonate.

The floor collapses behind Slug and Raven; they make a mad dash towards the end of the bridge. The suspension cables snap, the floors bend and deform; the Anbu hurdle towards the nearest platform as the bridge's support beams give. Down the next hallway, they see Elias, staring them down with a smug look on his face.

" _Still alieve, eh? Guess I'll have to-_ " Elias ducks under a senbon needle, " _Whoa! You could've put someone's eye out with that!_ "

" _That's the idea, ya gaping cunt!_ " Slug snaps at Elias before throwing a cluster of senbon needles at him. Elias yanks open a door, preventing himself from becoming a pin cushion. The Anbu continue chasing him, so he enters the room and closes the door. Raven opens the door; however, the room is empty. She hears another door opening on the other side of the hallway then sees Elias running into the next room. The Anbu rush down the halls and barge through the door after him, but Elias scurries out of an adjacent room, on the opposite end of the hallway. Elias opens the subsequent door and finds himself having to duck under another senbon needle. _"There you are! C'mere mutha fucka!"_ Elias runs back to the previous room with the Anbu hot on his heels; door to door, room to room; no matter how fast, or how far he runs the Anbu gain on him. He emerges through yet another door, but hides behind it this time. The Anbu charge out the room, past Elias and into the next.

" _Fucking idiots._ " Elias snickers. Across the hallway, he sees what appears to be four teenagers and a Great Dane, running from a couple of giggling, green ghosts. The door slams on the ghosts; they notice Elias in the corner, change course and hound after him. Elias's eyes widen, his 'oh shit' factor blares as he dashes up the hallway and around the corner with the ghosts now in pursuit. Raven and Slug rush out of a nearby room, screaming, with the ghosts now chasing them. Elias runs back down the hallway then back up it again as a hoard of mutants comes after him. He sees the teenagers and their dog again, running from one door to the other and follows. Rather than entering the room, he holds open the door, allowing the mutants to flood in after them, " _Your sacrifices won't be forgotten!_ " Elias assures, he shuts the door then dives through a window, shattering it.

The Anbu burst through the windows then bolt up the glass panes after Elias. They evade and deflect the kunai and shuriken Elias throws at them. Elias electrifies one of his kunai then throws it against the glass surface, causing a chain reaction. Slug and Raven increase their speed as the glass cracks with each step. The glass collapses around them, Slug dodges the enormous shards of glass hurling at him while Raven tries not to lose her footing and fall through. With the edge of the skyscraper in sight, Slug and Raven dart towards the rooftops; their momentum launches them through the air as the final glass pane shatters behind them.

XXX

Raven and Slug land on the rooftops, once more. This time, Elias is expecting them.

Music: Chip_11 - Contra Force - Final Boss Remix (NES) by DJ ILS HK

Across the skyscraper, they see him standing there, starring them down. The rain clears, the crimson moonlight reflects off Elias's glasses, making him appear like a silhouette with large, pupil less, white eyes. Lightning flashes across the sky, revealing the serious look on his face as he takes one last drag of a cigarette before flicking it over the edge.

(Over 1300 meters away - on a distant rooftop)

" _I…Can't… Move… Ya know…_ "


	3. ReDead Redemption

...


End file.
